Upgrades Made by Atlanta Braves this Offseason are Hard to Find, But They're There
While the Atlanta Braves haven't made any huge moves this , Alex Anthopoulos has continued to improve this team over the offseason.
There is still a lot of offseason left and several good options available either via free agency or trade, especially for the starting rotation, which figures to be an area AA will address at some point.
But even if there aren't any more moves coming this winter, an argument can be made this team as currently constructed is better than the 2023 group that won 104 games.
As Lindsay points out in this article, Jarred Kelenic is projected to be better in 2024 than Eddie Rosario.
It's hard to predict the Braves offense being any better than the historic group it was in 2023 when they had a team slugging percentage over 500, but with Kelenic getting most of the reps in left field, it still figures to be the best offense in baseball.
Getting David Fletcher is a lateral move at best to what they had in Nicky Lopez.
While moves haven't been made to upgrade the rotation at this point, assuming they're healthy, you'll be hard-pressed to find too many rotations in baseball that are better than Spencer Strider and Max Fried at the top.
Charlie Morton is a solid number three starter, and assuming Bryce Elder is somewhere between what he was in the first half of 2023 and what he was in the second half, he'll be a fine number four.
The fifth spot is the big question right now, but they have good candidates in Reynaldo Lopez, AJ Smith-Shawver, Huascar Ynoa, Hurston Waldrep, Darius Vines, and Allan Winans.
Braves' starters finished 17th in ERA last year, so we're not looking at a high bar to clear. Again, assuming healthy, a full year of Strider, Fried, and Morton figure to improve that team ERA.
The real area the Braves have improved is in the bullpen.
Bringing back Joe Jiménez and Pierce Johnson doesn't qualify as improvements, as they were here last year, but those were solid signings.
The additions of Lopez and Aaron Bummer, along with the return of Tyler Matzek, give you a potentially buzzsaw of a bullpen.
Brian Snitker has so many options to go to out of the bullpen, and guys that he can use in different ways.
A bullpen of Raisel Iglesias, A.J. Minter, Jiménez, Johnson, Bummer, Lopez, Matzek, and probably a long reliever -- maybe AJSS to start the year -- figures to be one of the best in baseball.
That doesn't even include some high-upside arms like Dylan Lee and Daysbel Hernandez. Penn Murfee is someone who could help later in the season.
Bullpens are impossible to predict year-to-year, but on paper at least, you can see that AA is building together a strong foundation of arms.
Admittedly, the upgrades this offseason don't stand out, but they do exist. This is a team that already had the foundations of a World Series-caliber team coming into the offseason.
While fans would love to see the splash signings or trades, those moves aren't necessary with this group -- although I still think it would make sense.
AA has done a good job upgrading on the margins, and if that big deal falls into his lap to put this team over the top -- then great. But his main job is preparing this team to win now and in the future, and he continues to do that better than any GM out there.
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Current Atlanta Braves prospect rankings
Current Atlanta Braves 40-man roster
Key offseason dates for the Atlanta Braves
Projecting the 2024 Atlanta Braves' arbitration salaries
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