The Braves also signed RHP Reynaldo Lopez to a three-year contract worth $30 million. Atlanta also selected the contract of RHP Domingo Gonzalez to the 40-man roster.

Lopez came into his own in his first season with Atlanta. The 30-year-old made 25 starts, the most since his 2019 season with the Chicago White Sox. Over 135.2 innings, he carried an 8-5 record and struck out 148 with a stellar 1.99 ERA and 1.106 WHIP.

Bummer had a solid season in 2024, his first year with the Braves, with a 4-3 record. He made 56 appearances and pitched 55.1 innings with a 3.58 ERA, 1.428 WHIP and 69 strikeouts.

Gonzalez pitched in Triple-A Gwinnett and Double-A Mississippi for Braves’ affiliates. Across both leagues, the 25-year-old reliever held a 4-3 record and made 45 appearances. He had nine saves and pitched 52.2 innings with a 2.91 ERA and 0.949 WHIP.

Projecting the Braves’ 2025 season

The Braves recently traded Jorge Soler to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Griffin Canning.

Atlanta is hoping for a big breakout season from Drake Baldwin in 2025. The 23-year-old catcher prospect looked great at times between Triple-A and Double-A. In 124 games across both leagues, he held a .276/.370/.423 slash line with 16 home runs and 88 RBIs.

Max Fried may also not return, depending on whether the Braves decide to spend the money necessary to retain him. Many analysts feel he will sign elsewhere, likely with the New York Mets. The Braves already exercised the 2025 options for Marcell Ozuna and Travis d’Arnaud.

ESPN’s David Schoenfield places Atlanta at No. 7 in his way-too-early 2025 MLB power rankings.

“The easy assumption is that the Braves will bounce back in 2025 — closer to their 104 wins of 2023 than the 89 of 2024. After all, they’ll have Ronald Acuña Jr. back, for starters.

“Except when he returned from knee surgery in 2022, it wasn’t until the next year that he was back at full strength (and he might sit out the first month of 2025 anyway). He also wasn’t anything special before his injury in 2024: .716 OPS in 49 games.

“But the biggest issue here: Max Fried is a free agent and not guaranteed to return as the Braves failed to extend him despite attempts to do so. So is Charlie Morton, although he’s more likely to return. They also had offensive holes at shortstop and left field, and Sean Murphy hasn’t hit since the first half of 2023.

“Chris Sale’s season-ending health issues are a red flag for 2025 — and he just pitched his most innings since 2017. Atlanta will get Spencer Strider back at some point, and the offense should be better, but regression from the bullpen and Reynaldo Lopez (1.99 ERA) should also be expected.”

There may be more holes to fill in the Braves’ roster than they will have replacements this offseason.