Breaking news: What is the Atlanta Braves’ offseason schedule?

What is the Atlanta Braves’ offseason schedule?

We are a little over five weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training for the Atlanta Braves in North Port. As we sit here on January 7, a number of big name free agents remain unsigned so there is still some work to be done. For the Atlanta Braves thought, things are falling into place.

The Braves spent the early part of the offseason retooling their bullpen, stocking it with power arms. Atlanta re-signed Joe Jimenez and Pierce Johnson, traded for a pair of lefties in Aaron Bummer and Ray Kerr and signed hard throwing righty Reynaldo López to a three-year deal. Lopez may figure into the rotation picture as well.

The Braves also traded for outfielder Jarred Kelenic and are hoping that he can be their longterm solution for left field. Just before the New Year, Atlanta finally added the starter they had been looking for by acquiring Chris Sale from Boston in exchange for Vaughn Grissom. They then locked him up with a two-year contract that also includes a club option for a third season, ensuring that he will be a part of the rotation picture for the next two seasons.

So what is left for the Braves? One of Alex Anthopoulos’ favorite sayings is that they are always looking for ways to improve the club. So, you can never rule out another big move, but given the moves that they have already made, another splash appears unlikely. They do need to continue to fill out the bench. Atlanta signed former Mets utility infielder Luis Guillorme to a one-year deal earlier this week, but they still just have 12 position players on the 40-man roster. Former Angels infielder David Fletcher is another option to fill a bench role, but was outrighted off the 40-man shortly after he was acquired.

The most glaring need appears to be a right-handed hitting outfielder that could potentially pair with Kelenic in left. If Kelenic plays well, he could see every day at-bats, but he has hit just .189/.255/.311 with a 61 wRC+ in his career against lefties although it is worth mentioning that he performed better against southpaws in 2023 than he did against righties. Kevin Pillar filled that right-handed role last season and is a free agent. There is a long list of available outfielders so it is hard to project in what direction Atlanta might ultimately go.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*