Honesty is the best policy. This concept is something that it appears Atlanta Braves general manager, Alex Anthopoulos is uncharacteristically struggling with. As Spring Training is getting under way, the Braves still have holes to fill (at least one would think).

Atlanta will be without starting pitchers Max Fried and Charlie Morton who both signed elsewhere in free agency. Arguably their most reliable relief pitcher in AJ Minter is now a division rival while Joe Jimenez is likely to miss all of the 2025 season. It is also worth noting that superstars Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider will not be ready for Opening Day.

The only significant move Anthopoulos made this offseason was acquiring free agent outfielder Jurickson Profar. While this move will help the Braves and was necessary, the desperate need for pitching remains. Anthopoulos is still trying to justify why no big moves were made instead of just admitting he is trying to reset Atlanta’s luxury tax.

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There is no doubt about it that when the Braves are fully healthy that they are one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. However to be able to compete with teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees in October, Atlanta has some work to do. It appears Anthopoulos does not see it that way.

In an interview with Fox 5, Anthopoulos discussed how he felt like the current Braves team doesn’t have as many needs as most people think thanks to the long-term contracts he has dished out in the past few seasons.

“We have long-term contracts all over the place so even then we didn’t have that many holes.” Anthopoulos said.

Anthopoulos went on to say that he does acknowledge losing Fried and Morton did hurt the starting rotation but is looking for interal players to fill that void. He mentioned Grant Holmes as one player who could potentially claim a spot in the rotation.

Even though Holmes had impressive moments in 2024, there is no doubt that Anthopoulos had better options. More aggresively pursuing veteran free agents such as Max Scherzer could have given the Braves a much needed boost.

At this point, Anthopoulos should just come straight out and be honest with fans by saying he is avoiding the luxury tax even though he stated earlier this offseason that would not be a factor when making moves.