Offseason Efforts Building Confidence That Braves Can Bounce Back

In the end, the Atlanta Braves have to go out there and prove these additions help, but their efforts compared to last offseason spell more confidence

The Atlanta Braves' efforts have earned the right to a vote of confidence | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The last week or so has flipped the outlook of the Atlanta Braves' offseason on its head. For a time, the big move was re-signing Raisel Iglesias, and perhaps they had an option at shortstop who could move around the field in Mauricio Dubon. Then, the wave came in. 

Mike Yastrzemski added flexibility to the outfield and the lineup. Robert Suarez will now pair up with the re-signing Igleasias. As icing on the cake so far, they’ve brought back Ha-Seong Kim. He is technically returning, but he was only around a month. From a full-season perspective, he can still be seen as a new addition, fortifying shortstop.  

Whatever happened behind the scenes during the quiet period erupted into a flurry of moves over just a few days. 

The Braves have more options for how they want to play matchups, as well as for options when they simply have to go without someone else.  

“Look, guys are going to get injured, have down years,” general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. “It does feel pretty good, especially from the left-right [handed] balance standpoint...we’re much deeper from a position player standpoint than we’ve been the last couple of years.”

Manager Walt Weiss had expressed the desire during the Winter Meetings that he’s looking to find more ways to mix and match players. Having Yatrzemski, along with Eli White and Vidal Brujan, as an option goes a long way to achieving that goal. 

“There’s days where I could play right, “Yastrzemski said. “Give [Ronald Acuña Jr.] a DH day if he needs a blow. You know, if Mike needs a blow, I could spend a day in center.” 

With Mauricio Dubon, they still have an option in the infield if either Kim or Ozzie Albies needs a night off. 

Their biggest plus and curse is their surplus at catcher. While one is recovering from an injury, they still have both Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy at their disposal. The current roster setup allows them to utilize both, and manager Walt Weiss is determined to make it work because of the potential here.  

“I want to get Drake's bat in there as much as we can," Weiss said during the Winter Meetings. "Drake hits right and left [-handed pitchers]. You know, he's not a platoon guy.”

The Braves are going from a team that was forced to utilize certain options to having to figure out how to use all their options. Injury will ultimately force their hand, but they won’t have to jump to the waiver wire as quickly. 

Last year, they had to pivot to options such as Alex Verdugo, Bryan De La Cruz and Stuart Fairchild. They churned through a lot of options to see what would stick. While they’re starting outfielders ended up being who they were supposed to be by the end of the season (Acuña, Harris and Profar), who backed them up was completely different multiple times over. Apart from White, the earliest some of the current options arrived to the team was August (Brujan). 

Even in the infield, Orlando Arcia was the starting shortstop, and the team tried two more last season, with Kim prevailing. Two of the starting shortstops last season are no longer with the team. 

There appears to be more direction in determining concrete options. The top options this offseason aren’t guys who might break camp or could potentially provide depth. They have the track record that gives certainty that they will. 

It can be said to be the same with the bullpen. The Braves didn't just go for a diamond in the rough this time. They added an all-star to help slam the door on the game. Suarez comes with a healthy track record. That helps knowing that Jimenez's status is in flux and multiple key relievers missed time last season.

The verdict is still out there. They still need to add a starting pitcher to bolster that depth. We need to see how Albies looks this season, and how Austin Riley and Murphy look after their season-ending injuries were repaired. Michael Harris II was statistically the best and worst hitter in baseball, depending on the time of year. Those factors will determine how they actually perform in 2026. 

That being said, because this offseason’s additions are more proven compared to those who were coming in a season prior, they have granted themselves some benefit of the doubt. There is more potential to bounce back and contend again. They aren’t simply trying to get healthy and run it back, even if they need some health to go their way. The foundation is stronger from the jump.