{"id":84881,"date":"2025-08-28T16:26:55","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T16:26:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=84881"},"modified":"2025-08-29T01:57:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T01:57:02","slug":"big-reveals-braves-jaw-dropping-172m-free-agency-escape-leaves-rivals-reeling-in-regret","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=84881","title":{"rendered":"Big Reveals: Braves\u2019 Jaw-Dropping $172M Free Agency Escape Leaves Rivals Reeling in Regret"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header\">\n<h3 class=\"entry-title\">Braves appear to have dodged $172 million bullet in free agency<\/h3>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"post-thumbnail\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sportstalkatl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dmz25041107-phi-at-stl.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sportstalkatl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dmz25041107-phi-at-stl.jpg?w=1000&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sportstalkatl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dmz25041107-phi-at-stl.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sportstalkatl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dmz25041107-phi-at-stl.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 768w\" alt=\"MLB: APR 11 Phillies at Cardinals\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"incontent float-none float-lg-end ms-auto me-auto me-lg-0 ms-lg-2 mb-2\"><\/div>\n<p>In baseball, especially for clubs that do not have a limitless payroll like the Dodgers or Mets, the deals you don\u2019t make can sometimes be even more important than the ones you do.<\/p>\n<p>For the Braves, there have been several examples of this. At the 2017 trade deadline,\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Jeff Passan reported that Atlanta went hard after Jose Quintana, including\u00a0Ozzie Albies\u00a0and more in their offer. Thankfully, the Cubs said no thanks, or the Braves would have netted a player that pitched to the tune of a 4.36 ERA over the next three seasons for a three-time All-Star second baseman that went on to sign one of the most team-friendly contracts in the league.<\/p>\n<p>More recently, the Braves were in on\u00a0Aaron Nola\u00a0a couple of offseasons ago,\u00a0with ESPN\u2019s Jeff Passan calling them a \u201creal threat\u201d to land the All-Star pitcher.<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=SportsTalkATL&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1726283292205547599&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportstalkatl.com%2Fbraves-appear-to-have-dodged-172-million-bullet-in-free-agency%2F&amp;sessionId=5aa6def027c6c24103ef2291c1b031c68ea0e1f6&amp;siteScreenName=SportsTalkATL&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1726283292205547599\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><em>\u201cThe Braves, off back-to-back 100-win seasons and divisional-round ousters by the Phillies, made a six-year, $162 million offer to Nola out of the chute, a source said Sunday. It was a sensible starting point. Atlanta\u2019s bid equaled the Yankees\u2019 deal with free-agent lefty\u00a0Carlos Rod\u00f3n\u00a0last winter.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Had the Braves put pen to paper with\u00a0Aaron Nola, the contract would have nearly tripled the largest ever handed out by current general manager Alex Anthopoulos.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, his thinking was rather clear. Nola, while not quite an ace, had proven to be a workhorse. From 2018 to 2023, he never missed a start, a rarity in today\u2019s game when injuries to pitchers almost feel inevitable.<\/p>\n<p>However, just a couple of years into Nola\u2019s $172 million contract with the Phillies, and there might already be some buyer\u2019s remorse. The 32-year-old boasts a gaudy 6.52 ERA and has missed three months due to various injuries.<\/p>\n<p>Over the next five seasons, Nola is owed nearly $125 million. It is a contract that has quickly soured and looks like one of the worst in baseball. The kind of contract that would slam most team\u2019s chances at the postseason completely shut.<\/p>\n<p>The Phillies can afford a significant gaffe like this, given their willingness to spend. But had the Braves made this deal, we\u2019d likely be talking about a full-blown rebuild heading into 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Braves appear to have dodged $172 million bullet in free agency In baseball, especially for clubs that do not have a limitless payroll like the Dodgers or&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":84882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Big Reveals: Braves\u2019 Jaw-Dropping $172M Free Agency Escape Leaves Rivals Reeling in Regret - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=84881\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Big Reveals: Braves\u2019 Jaw-Dropping $172M Free Agency Escape Leaves Rivals Reeling in Regret - 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