When the Atlanta Braves walked into the 2023 postseason, they were bringing with them the best record in Major League Baseball, accounting for 104 wins and 58 losses. With that came an array of what seemed like every conceivable offensive record in baseball, either for a single season or in history, that was broken either individually or collectively, sometimes multiple times. However, the Braves were put out in four games in the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies, and none of that mattered after that.
The loss in the NLDS was the second in as many years, to the Phillies no less, where the Braves, after only winning 88 games and a division title and eventually a World Series title back in 2021, failed to live up to expectations after becoming 100-plus game winners the last two seasons. Now the Braves, the leading favorites to win the World Series next season, have to figure out how to avoid shortening their postseason again next year.
The Braves have a core group together. But is that the problem?
Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos has done a remarkable job since joining Atlanta in 2017. He brought the Braves their first World Series appearance since 1999 and their first championship since 1995, while also winning six straight division titles. Anthopoulos has done this through signing a core group of players, mostly in the form of homegrown talent, with a few trade acquisitions, to some long-term, team-friendly deals.
While that group, including Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Michael Harris II, and Spencer Strider, among others, has worked out to be a powerhouse of a team during the regular season, it hasn't been able to produce during the postseason yet. Four of those guys weren't even on the team during the 2021 World Series. Strider and Harris were still in the minors, while Olson was still with the Oakland Athletics, and Acuna was sidelined with an ACL injury for the season.
No team roster is ever the same from season to season, that's obvious. Free agency, trades, and injuries happen. But the Braves could largely look the same in 2024 as they did in 2023, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But is it the best thing? The problem with Anthopoulos signing such a large cast of players for the long term is that it leaves little room for change. Granted, you can't blame Anthopoulos for how he was able to sign such a talented group of players to bargain deals, because that's essentially what he was forced to do.
The Braves are owned by Liberty Media and since July of 2023 have been split into their own company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Liberty neither takes money out nor puts money into the team; rather, the team spends what they make. You could view this as a bad or good thing, but needless to say, while the pockets are deep, they might not be as deep as traditional billionaire owners in the MLB who can just write off multi-million dollar checks at will. So, therefore, Anthopoulos, while he has been creative and opportunistic with the team's financials and roster building, he may have also stifled the team a bit moving forward.
“You have to be careful you don’t overweigh a four-game sample size,” Anthopoulos said while speaking at the General Managers Meetings on the Braves' offseason plans, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com. “But I don’t think you can ignore it either. I know that’s two answers in one. But, we have general ideas and thoughts. It likely will influence what we do this offseason, which is why I'm probably not going to get into it because I don't want people to know what we're trying to do, other than we want to make the team better.”
The Braves need to make trades and moves in free agency in offseason for 2024
Anthopoulos and the Braves are now in a precarious situation in their organization. They know they're good, they know they have talent, they even know they can win it all. But the hard part is putting it all together again and making that happen, now with expectations exceedingly higher. And with the entire NL East division rising up, with the Phillies likely back in the race, the New York Mets under Steve Cohen spending billions of dollars to make his team in Queens competitive, and the Miami Marlins only getting better, it's about to get a lot tougher for Atlanta.
That leaves the Braves heavily in need of looking at free agents this offseason, and more importantly, maybe making some trades. The problem for Atlanta in the form of making trades is that most of their farm system has been depleted due to their best players being called up to the major league roster, or others traded away through various deals, like those for Matt Olson and Sean Murphy in the last two seasons. The Braves have the 25th ranked farm system, according to FanGraphs.
Regardless, the Braves are going to need to fill some holes, most notably in the outfield after not exercising Eddie Rosario's contract for next season, and in starting pitching. The Braves were more or less forced to exercise Charlie Morton's $20 million club option, given that they'll be without Kyle Wright all next season, leaving them with only Strider and Max Fried as reliable options in the starting rotation.
The Braves' beat writer for The Athletic, Jeff Schultz, proposed some interesting trade options that Atlanta should consider to fill these holes.
Marcell Ozuna
Ozuna from the Braves could very easily be Ozuna from (insert team) with the way the slugger bounced back during the regular season last year after starting out on the verge of being designated for assignment. Now with the universal DH, moving Ozuna with only one year left on his deal would be a good move.
Ozzie Albies
This would be crushing to Braves fans, and Albies is beloved in Atlanta. But Schultz notes that Anthopoulos could see value that only a second baseman could bring in a trade for a much-needed starting pitcher.
Vaughn Grissom
Grissom still has little experience at the major league level, but for the most part, when he's been there, he's produced at the plate. It's his defense that is troubling. The question would be what kind of value could Atlanta get for him, or what and who would they need to add to the deal?
AJ Smith-Shawver/Huston Waldrep
These are the top two prospects in Atlanta's farm. Moving one or both depletes their minor league system even further, but trading one or both could potentially get an outfielder or pitcher from a team that's looking to unload their contract.
Michael Harris II
I can't see this one happening. Harris has become another fan favorite and is still really young in his career. However, there's no telling what the Braves could potentially get for him.
Travis d'Arnaud
This is another one that seems unlikely but not out of the realm of possibility, with Murphy on a long-term deal and d'Arnaud with only one year left on his.
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