#atlanta-braves

#atlanta-braves

Well the big news of the day was the Braves being linked in multiple spots to Tatsuya Imai. I have been pushing Imai a bit for the past few weeks for the Braves, as he makes a ton of sense. He wouldn't cost the 26th overall pick to sign him, which is a huge advantage over the other top starters on the market like Framber Valdez.

Azocar had a brief stint on Atlanta's MLB roster this year. He signed a big league deal on May 30 and spent a little over two weeks on Brian Snitker's bench. He was limited to two appearances, both as a late-game substitute, and flew out in his only at-bat. The Venezuela native also got into 12 games with the Mets earlier in the year. He made five starts and went 5-18 (all singles) with a pair of walks and a stolen base.

As an initial stab, you might have guessed that since adopting the power-oriented offensive approach in 2019, the Braves have not been much for accumulating stolen bases. That's fairly intuitive, but unfortunately, it gets somewhat upended by reality. The Braves finished just inside the top ten in team stolen bases in 2018, and then again in 2019. 2020 and 2021 were low-steal years,

Besides Kyle Tucker, whom the Toronto Blue Jays also have a vested interest in, Bo Bichette remains the premier free agent on the market. The shortstop's latest update involved a revelation that he'd be willing to change positions for the right team, which is probably the right call after he "earned" -13 Outs Above Average at short in 2025. While that will surely appeal to teams interested in the two-time All-Star, Bichette's market is more or less defined already. He'll be too expensive for small-market teams to sign, and his various warts (injury history, defensive issues, etc.) will surely keep on-the-fence suitors at bay.

Joey Wentz might be the most interesting man on the roster going into 2026 Spring Training. Well, that's not really true. It's probably the new free agent acquisitions. But, with a Braves rotation returning from injury, and a potential cure for his location worries accounted for, he could put himself right in the mix as a swingman. As one of the prospects that the mid-2010s Braves fans pinned their hopes upon, it's good to see him back and performing well for once.

The Braves have committed 29 million in 2026 salary to two high-leverage relievers this offseason. Robert Suarez will collect another 32 million (walkout pending) through 2028. That's a lot to allocate to the back end of the bullpen. What does this mean for any more offseason signings? Well, when this front office splashes the cash over relievers it usually means that they found the starting pitching market prohibitively expensive. I don't think this keeps them from making a move at shortstop, though.

It has been a relatively quiet few weeks for the Atlanta Braves following the reunion with closer Raisel Iglesias and acquisition of super utility man (and, perhaps, starting shortstop) Mauricio Dubon, but that does not mean Alex Anthopoulos isn't working on other additions.

Jorge Castillo of ESPN is reporting that the Braves are interested in potentially adding free agent utility man Willi Castro to the squad. They'll have to deal with competition though, as apparently both the Rockies and Pirates are also checking in on Castro as well. Castro picked a pretty bad time to enter the offseason on a down note. Despite the fact that he was solidly productive for the Twins in the first half of the season,

Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos spoke to reporters today, including David O'Brien of The Athletic, covering a variety of topics. The head man in Atlanta offered details on the club's plans at DH, along with some health updates on a couple of pitchers. While Anthopoulos didn't rule out bringing back Marcell Ozuna, he said the team prefers to leave DH open and split the role among multiple players.

Pope, 27, joins a new organization for the first time in his career. He was added to the roster in the final week of the regular season and got to make one appearance. On September 25th, with the Snakes down 8-0 to the Dodgers, Pope tossed two scoreless innings of mop-up duty. He allowed two hits and a walk while striking out one.

The Atlanta Braves made a minor move (literally) on Tuesday morning, signing left-hander Danny Young to a one-year, split deal. The 31-year-old was previously with the New York Mets, who recently outrighted him, giving Atlanta the opportunity to pick him up. He did undergo Tommy John surgery in May, so he won't be on the mound at the beginning of the season.

Earlier this year, April 16 to be specific, Spencer Strider made a long-awaited return to the mound after missing nearly the entirety of the 2024 season due to surgery on his elbow. Considering how poor of a start the Braves got off to in 2025, his return was truly a sight for sore eyes and the obvious hope was that his return was the catalyst to help revive both the pitching staff's and the team's fortunes as well.

The Braves announced Tuesday morning that they've signed left-handed reliever Danny Young to a one-year, major league contract. It's a split deal, paying the 31-year-old at different rates for time spent in the majors versus time in the minors. Young, a client of Dynamic Sports Group, goes onto Atlanta's 40-man roster. He'll be paid at a $925K rate in the majors, MLBTR has learned.

The 2018 Braves were forecasted to be largely irrelevant. They surprised everyone and pulled off a once-in-a-generation-for-a-franchise turnaround. Did that carry over into 2019? Well, not really - the team was projected to be better than average, but more of a fringy contender. Inertia is a thing. Only by 2021 was the team in "solid contender" territory, with any foundering seasons firmly in the rear-view mirror.

While it may seem a bit odd, December typically is one of the most exciting months on the baseball calendar. The Winter Meetings is typically the peak of off-season activity, and we are just a week away from the 2025 MLB Winter Meetings starting. This does not mean that moves will stop until then, but the main takeaway is that activity should continue to pick for the Braves and other teams.

It is a beautiful, late autumn morning as I sip a cup of coffee and watch the lingering, golden yellow leaves of a maple tree fall gently to the ground. The smell of banana bread completing its final minutes of baking wafts through the air. For this, I am thankful. This is the fifth consecutive year that I've been fortunate enough to publish this editorial here at Battery Power.

We spend a long time here worried about what the winter moves mean and how it will help the team going forward. What if it doesn't matter because the Braves are just undeniably good? Walt Weiss could be that rock that steadies the ship. Tim Hyers might be a guy that could be allowed to encourage the Braves hitters to hunt for power.