Braves Briefing: Looking at our top five available free agents

It seems like MLB front offices wanted to enjoy their Thanksgiving before really ramping up the signings to get free agency rolling.

Before free agency began, Braves Today put out a free agency list ranking the top available players that the Atlanta Braves could sign. SO far, Aaron Nola is the top player that has signed - he turned down more money from Atlanta to re-up with the Phillies for seven years and $172 million.

Here's an updated top five:

1) DH/RHP Shohei Ohtani, Angels

This should surprise no one.

2) RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Japan

Our Lindsay Crosby wrote, "Probably the best pitcher on the planet to not yet be in Major League Baseball, the 25 year-old Yamamoto won the NPB's equivalent of both the Cy Young and MVP last season. He's a five-time All Star, three-time ERA champion, and twice won the Triple Crown. The previous record for a player signing from Japan is 5 years & $155M, by Masahiro Tanaka in 2014, and it's about to get obliterated."

3) OF Cody Bellinger, Cubs

MLB insider Matt Vagersian predicts that Bellinger will end up with the Seattle Mariners. A lot of teams are showing interest.

4) 3B Matt Chapman, Blue Jays

Our bio for Chapman: "Chapman's platform year was weird - he absolutely RAKED in March and April, hitting .384 with five homers and 21 RBIs before hie seemingly wore down - his last two months saw batting averages of .197 & .167, respectively and significant struggles against elevated fastballs. But he's a defensively-sound slugger with a good track record, and someone will pay him long-term hoping that they can tweak his mechanics to better get up in the zone against heaters."

5) LHP Blake Snell, Padres

Seems like Snell wants to play for the Mariners according to a few reports. The Cy Young winner was mentioned on our podcasts a few times.

How long until pitchers and catchers report?

76 days. Atlanta's expected to ask pitchers and catchers to report on Monday, February 12th, in advance of their first spring training game on February 24th against the Tampa Bay Rays. An official announcement of the reporting date will come in January.

Here's the odds for the top 10 teams to win the 2024 World Series according to FanDuel

Atlanta Braves - +600
Los Angeles Dodgers - +700
Texas Rangers - +850
Houston Astros - +850
Philadelphia Phillies - +1000
New York Yankees - +1400
Tampa Bay Rays - +1500
Toronto Blue Jays - +1500
Baltimore Orioles - +1500
Minnesota Twins - +1800
Seattle Mariners - +1800

Important Braves Today Offseason Stories
2023 MLB Free Agent Rankings
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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