The Braves have made three significant moves through the first few days of the offseason, and all of them involve clearing salary for next season.
The biggest of the bunch was a trade, as Alex Anthopoulos sent Jorge Soler out west to the Angels in exchange for right-handed pitcher Griffin Canning. What the Braves do with Canning remains to be seen, but it’s very possible they choose to non-tender him, ridding the Braves of $16 million in payroll for 2025.
The club then re-worked a couple of contracts of key contributors from this year. Aaron Bummer was set to be paid $7.25 million in 2025 if the Braves picked up his club option. Instead, Anthopoulos handed him a two-year, $13 million contract, which is backloaded. The deal will pay him just $3.5 million in 2025 and $9.5 million in 2026.
Similarly, Reynaldo López was scheduled to make $11 million next season; now, he’ll make just $8 million. In exchange, the Braves guaranteed his option for 2027, which will also pay him $8 million.
In total, the Braves have cleared about $20 million in salary for next season, signaling they could be in the market to swing big this offseason. The question is, how big?
Willy Adames is the among the top options on the market and would fill the Braves biggest position of need. The Braves desperately need to find a long-term answer at shortstop, but the Dodgers are also reportedly interested. It doesn’t matter how much money Alex Anthopoulos clears; if Los Angeles is hell-bent on being the highest bidder for Adames’ services, Atlanta won’t be able to compete dollar for dollar.
The outfield is also an area of concern. It’s impossible to know when Ronald Acuña Jr. will be ready next year, and even still, left field needs to be addressed. The Jarred Kelenic experiment was a failure, while Adam Duvall and Ramon Laureano are set to hit free agency. More pitching should be considered as well, although it’s probably more of a luxury than a need for the Braves compared to previous offseasons.
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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
