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Braves Rumors

Braves To Decline Club Option On Pierce Johnson

By Steve Adams | November 6, 2025 at 12:21pm CDT

The Braves will decline their $7MM club option on right-handed reliever Pierce Johnson, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’ll receive a $250K buyout and become a free agent. Johnson is the second affordable reliever whose 2026 option has been declined by Atlanta today. The Braves also opted for a buyout over exercising Tyler Kinley’s $5.5MM option.

It’s a fairly surprising decision regarding Johnson, who’s pitched well in two-plus seasons with Atlanta — particularly in 2025. The 34-year-old righty was acquired from the Rockies at the 2023 deadline, posted a sub-1.00 ERA down the stretch and was rewarded with a two-year, $14MM contract. Johnson has pitched 115 1/3 innings of 3.36 ERA ball since putting pen to paper on that deal, including a 3.05 ERA in 59 1/3 frames this past season. He’s posted nice strikeout and walk rates overall, and in 2025 fanned one-quarter of his opponents against an 8% walk rate.

That said, Johnson will be 35 next May and is coming off a poor finish to his season. Nearly half the runs he allowed on the year came over the final month of play. From Aug. 25 onward, Johnson was rocked for nine runs on 19 hits and three walks. Four of those 19 knocks left the yard. His strikeout rate dropped nearly three percentage points, and his average fastball dipped by about 0.4 mph. Those aren’t necessarily catastrophic red flags, but it’s also surely not a finish with which he or the team is satisfied.

While both the Johnson and Kinley decisions are somewhat surprising in isolation, the broader trend of seeing teams turn down reasonably priced options early in an offseason has been around for several years. Just last offseason, we saw reasonably priced options on Colin Rea, Andrew Chafin and Danny Coulombe bought out. Those teams clearly preferred not to allocate notable resources to relievers who weren’t set to be key leverage arms in 2025 (though Johnson was a regular in high-leverage spots with Atlanta). Even as far back as 2020, Cleveland waived Brad Hand and bought him out rather than pick up a $10MM option.

It’s tempting to read a bit too deep into the Braves’ bullpen decisions today, but declining options on a pair of mid-30s relievers doesn’t necessarily serve as a portent for an uncharacteristically thrifty offseason. Atlanta is never a particularly big spender in free agency under president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, but the Braves typically add a mid-tier free agent or two and are active on the trade market. More of the same could unfold. By forgoing the club options on Johnson and Kinley, their projected luxury tax number at the moment is around $197MM rather than nearly $209MM, per RosterResource.

As for Johnson, he’s coming off a nice run of two and a half seasons working as a setup man. He still sits 95-96 mph with his heater and still posted quality rate stats. He ought to command a big league deal in free agency, although the lack of a trade likely indicates that he might have a hard time exceeding the $7MM price point of his prior option.

With Johnson and Kinley out of the mix, the back-end of Atlanta’s bullpen includes Joe Jimenez, Aaron Bummer and Dylan Lee. Anthopoulos & Co. will surely make further additions in the months ahead. The Braves have already been linked to a potential reunion with outgoing closer Raisel Iglesias, and there’s no shortage of veteran arms to peruse on this offseason’s open market.

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Atlanta Braves Transactions Pierce Johnson

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Braves Decline Club Option On Tyler Kinley

By Nick Deeds | November 6, 2025 at 11:27am CDT

The Braves have declined their club option on right-hander Tyler Kinley, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Kinley will receive a $750K buyout and head into free agency rather than collecting a $5.5MM salary for the 2026 season.

The move to decline Kinley’s option is something of a surprise. The right-hander pitched to a 3.96 ERA with a 3.69 FIP in 72 2/3 innings of work overall in 2025, but those solid yet unspectacular overall results don’t tell the whole story. After being traded away from Coors Field to Atlanta at the trade deadline, Kinley flourished. He posted a microscopic 0.72 ERA in 25 innings of work, striking out 23.4% of his opponents with a 6.4% walk rate. That drop in free passes was especially notable given that he’s walked 11.1% of his opponents throughout parts of eight seasons in the majors, the majority of which came as a member of the Rockies.

Between Kinley’s big step forward in Atlanta, the club’s decision to trade for him at the trade deadline in an non-competitive year in the first place, and a bullpen that already stands to lose Raisel Iglesias in free agency this winter, the $4.75MM decision to keep Kinley in the fold seemed like an easy one for the Braves to pounce on. That’s not the path they’ve chosen, however, and Kinley will now head into free agency to become one of a vast pool of interesting middle relief arms available.

The decision to decline Kinley’s option could suggest some financial limitations facing Atlanta’s front office. Last winter saw the Braves kick off the year by shedding salary in some surprising ways, dumping Jorge Soler’s contract in a trade with the Angels and declining catcher Travis d’Arnaud’s club option while restructuring a number of contracts to provide more short-term financial flexibility. Those efforts allowed Atlanta to add Jurickson Profar to their outfield mix last year, and it’s not impossible to imagine the decision to decline Kinley coming from a desire to make sure that Atlanta has the resources available they’ll need to pursue their goals this winter. It seems likely the Braves will add at least one starter to their rotation, and they’ve made no secret of their desire to retain shortstop Ha-Seong Kim after they claimed him off waivers from Tampa back in September.

Checking those boxes on the offseason to-do list will come with significant price tags, but finding another quality relief arm for the Braves’ bullpen might be possible to do for less than the $4.75MM they’re saving by parting with Kinley. It’s not uncommon for teams to turn waiver pickups and minor league signings into stalwart bullpen pieces who wind up getting crucial outs in high leverage situations. The Dodgers uncovered a gem in that manner a few years ago when they brought Evan Phillips into the fold, while teams like the Cubs, Rays, and Brewers typically construct nearly their entire bullpen using this method. That strategy has not been one the Braves have employed in the past, instead happily investing significant dollars into contracts for players like Iglesias, Joe Jimenez, Pierce Johnson and Aaron Bummer. After a disappointing 2025 season that wound up being the worst of Alex Anthopoulos’s tenure in the organization, however, it’s worth wondering if the decision to part with Kinley could suggest a change in approach.

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Atlanta Braves Transactions Tyler Kinley

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MLBTR Podcast: Offseason Preview Megapod: Top Trade Candidates

By Darragh McDonald | November 5, 2025 at 11:58pm CDT

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • The 2025 World Series between the Dodgers and Blue Jays (1:55)
  • The Cubs letting Shota Imanaga becoming a free agent (9:05)
  • Ha-Seong Kim opting out of his deal with the Braves (19:00)
  • MLBTR’s list of the Top 40 Trade Candidates for the offseason (28:15)
  • The Cardinals having six guys on the list (32:15)
  • Why the Nationals will likely make MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams available (42:40)
  • The Twins, Joe Ryan, Pablo López and Ryan Jeffers (54:05)
  • The Pirates have a bunch of pitchers they could trade (1:06:20)
  • The Rays, Pete Fairbanks and Brandon Lowe (1:18:05)
  • The Brewers and Freddy Peralta (1:25:50)
  • The Marlins having some arms who could move (1:31:50)
  • Tyler Soderstrom of the Athletics, who did not make the list (1:41:40)
  • A theoretical trade sending Brady Singer to the Angels and Taylor Ward to the Reds (1:47:20)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Bo Bichette’s Health, Kazuma Okamoto, And Dylan Cease’s Market – listen here
  • The Phillies’ Outfield, Tarik Skubal, And Hiring College Coaches – listen here
  • Murakami To Be Posted This Offseason, Managerial Vacancies, And More! – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images

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Athletics Atlanta Braves Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers MLB Trade Rumors Podcast Miami Marlins Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals Ha-Seong Kim Shota Imanaga

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Braves Hire Jeremy Hefner, Antoan Richardson

By Darragh McDonald | November 5, 2025 at 1:35pm CDT

The Braves announced that they have hired Jeremy Hefner as pitching coach and Antoan Richardson as first base coach. Henfer replaces Rick Kranitz while Richardson replaces Tom Goodwin. Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that third base coach Fredi Gonzalez won’t be returning to Atlanta next year either.

Atlanta is plucking a couple of coaches from a division rival. Over a month ago, it was reported that the Mets would be making major coaching changes. That included moving on from Hefner, their longtime pitching coach. More recently, it was reported that Richardson would be moving on from the Mets as well. Both of them now retake their previous jobs but in Atlanta instead of Queens.

Hefner, now 39, had a brief major league career. He pitched for the Mets in 2012 and 2013, making 50 appearances, before multiple Tommy John surgeries intervened. Once his playing days were over, he was hired by the Twins as an advance scout. He worked his way up to an assistant pitching coach role. The Mets hired him as their pitching coach prior to the 2020 season.

It’s always tough to separate the contributions of one coach from several individual players, but the team performed decently under Hefner’s watch. From 2020 to 2025, the Mets had a collective 4.03 earned run average, good enough for 11th in the majors. He’ll now head to Atlanta to join a club looking for a bounceback after an extremely disappointing 2025 campaign.

Bringing one pitching coach aboard means another is on his way out. Kranitz, 67, has spent most of the past two decades as a pitching coach in the big leagues. He first got that job with the Marlins in 2006 and has since gone to the Orioles, Brewers and Phillies.

Atlanta hired him ahead of the 2019 season. They had just finished a 90-72 campaign in 2018 but parted ways with pitching coach Chuck Hernandez afterwards. The club has had a lot of success under Kranitz but has been struggling more recently. Atlanta won the National League East in Kranitz’s first five seasons, a run which included a World Series win in 2021. However, they slid to a Wild Card spot in 2024 and then this past season was a nightmare. Atlanta finished 2025 in fourth place in the East with a 76-86 record. Evidently, it was time for a change.

Richardson, 42, has had various coaching roles with the Giants and Mets over the years. He has settled in more recently as a first base coach, having had that job with the Giants from 2020 to 2023 and with the Mets for the past two years.

Goodwin, 57, has coached for various clubs over the years. He spent the past two seasons as first base coach in Atlanta but will be looking for a new gig for 2026. Gonzalez, 61, has also bounced around to various teams. A lot of those bounces have been in Atlanta. He was on the coaching staff from 2003 to 2006 and was the manager from 2011 to 2016. He returned to the club in June of this year, a rare midseason replacement, taking the job from Matt Tuiasosopo.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Fisher, Imagn Images

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Atlanta Braves New York Mets Antoan Richardson Fredi Gonzalez Jeremy Hefner Rick Kranitz Tom Goodwin

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Braves To Exercise Club Option On Chris Sale

By Nick Deeds | November 5, 2025 at 9:21am CDT

The Braves are exercising their club option on left-hander Chris Sale, according to a report from Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Sale will make $18MM in 2026.

The call to pick up Sale’s option for the 2026 campaign is surely one of the easiest option decisions any team will make this offseason. Sale, 36, is one of the best pitchers of his generation and won the NL Cy Young award in 2024. He was on track to compete for the award again this year, with a 2.52 ERA and 2.71 FIP through 15 starts, but he found himself sidelined for ten weeks over the summer due to a ribcage fracture. He looked just as dominant as ever when he returned, however, with a 2.72 ERA and 2.58 FIP across six starts in August and September. His stuff looked just as good as ever down the stretch, and he struck out an eye-popping 36.4% of his opponents in his 36 1/3 innings of work.

That Sale is pitching well is hardly a surprise, as he’s put together a Hall of Fame-caliber resume over the years. A nine-time All-Star who placed in the top five for AL Cy Young award voting six times before winning the NL award last year, Sale’s career 3.01 ERA, 2.88 FIP, and 30.8% strikeout rate know few equals throughout the game. He’s seventh all-time in strikeout rate among starting pitchers, and his run prevention and peripheral numbers match up well with titans of the sport like Clayton Kershaw and Pedro Martinez despite some of his counting numbers being held back by a relative lack of volume.

Fortunately, that relative lack of volume also means a relative lack of mileage on his arm, as compared to other players in his age range. Even with his 37th birthday on the horizon in March, Sale figures to serve as the club’s ace once again in 2026. He’ll be at the front of an Atlanta rotation with a lot of exciting upside but precious little certainty. Spencer Strider has shown the capacity to be a Cy Young caliber arm in the past, but had a disappointing 4.45 ERA in 2025. Spencer Schwellenbach has a career 3.23 ERA but was sidelined after just 17 starts this past season. Reynaldo Lopez had a 1.99 ERA in 2024 but didn’t appear in a game after March 28th this year.

Adding at least one proven, reliable rotation arm to this group figures to be a priority for the Braves this offseason, though it’s possible they could look to do more than that given the group’s collective injury history and questions about Lopez’s ability to handle the workload of a starter long-term. Even with additions likely on the horizon, though, there’s little doubt that Sale will be making his seventh career Opening Day start (and second for the Braves) in 2026 as long as he completes Spring Training with a clean bill of health.

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Atlanta Braves Newsstand Transactions Chris Sale

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Braves To Exercise Club Option On Ozzie Albies

By Steve Adams | November 4, 2025 at 5:14pm CDT

The Braves are going to pick up their club option on infielder Ozzie Albies. The club hasn’t announced the decision yet but president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos confirmed the move in a radio appearance, per Mark Zinno of 92.9 The Game. Atlanta will pay him a $7MM salary instead of the $4MM buyout. There’s also a $7MM club option for 2027 but with no buyout.

Even coming off a down season, there was never any scenario where Atlanta would turn down what’s a net $3MM option to keep Albies in the fold. The 28-year-old switch-hitter (29 in January) posted a career-worst .240/.306/.365 batting line (87 wRC+) in 157 games/667 plate appearances this past season, but he’s also not far removed from a 33-homer campaign and .280/.336/.513 output back in 2023. Plus, Albies finished the season looking far more like his typical self; over his final 264 turns at the plate, he produced a .272/.330/.439 line that sat about 11% better than league average.

Albies is now entering year six of what can max out as a seven-year contract. He inked a five-year, $35MM extension that has long stood as one of baseball’s great bargains. That deal contained a pair of $7MM club options, the first of which is now guaranteed bringing the total to six years and $38MM. (The $4MM buyout was included in the original $35MM guarantee.)

Even if Atlanta brass had soured on Albies’ long-term outlook — and, to be clear, there’s no indication that’s the case — picking up the option was a no-brainer. Albies’ bargain-rate salary and matching club option (with no buyout) would still hold appeal to teams seeking second base upgrades on the trade market.

As things stand, Albies can be reasonably expected to serve as the Braves’ everyday second baseman again in 2026. He’ll return to a lineup that’s set at most positions. Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy will split catching duties. Matt Olson is locked in at first base. Third baseman Austin Riley is signed through 2032. Ronald Acuña Jr. is heading into the final guaranteed season on his contract but, like Albies, has a pair of no-brainer club options (his covering 2027-28). Jurickson Profar is signed through 2027. Michael Harris II, who like Albies had a terrible three months followed by a strong second half, is signed through at least 2030.

Shortstop is the lone position where the Braves aren’t set at the moment. They’ll need to upgrade their bench and have plenty of work to do on the pitching staff — both in the rotation and the bullpen — but that only makes the affordable nature of Albies’ contract all the more appealing. Atlanta’s projected payroll checks in at a hefty $214MM, assuming the club options for Chris Sale, Tyler Kinley and Pierce Johnson are exercised.

The Braves have several non-tender candidates, and cutting anyone from that group will trim next year’s total outlay and their luxury-tax ledger by a few million dollars. But the Braves have only crossed the tax threshold once during the current core group’s time together (2023), so if the aim it to again stay under that line ($244MM in 2026), they’ll need to be judicious in how they address the remaining holes on the roster.

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Atlanta Braves Newsstand Transactions Ozzie Albies

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Braves Release Nathan Wiles

By Darragh McDonald | November 4, 2025 at 1:40pm CDT

The Braves have released right-hander Nathan Wiles, according to Lindsay Crosby of the Braves Today podcast. The righty will become a free agent once he clears release waivers, if he hasn’t already.

Wiles, 27, came to Atlanta’s organization in a trade from the Rays back in March. He was added to Atlanta’s 40-man roster on April 22nd and tossed one inning that day, allowing three earned runs in his major league debut. He was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett the next day. He was recalled a few times over the remainder of the season but was always optioned back down without making an appearance, so he still has just the one big league game on his track record.

Throughout his time in the minors, he has generally produced cromulent results without a ton of strikeouts but also without many free passes. Over 438 minor league innings in his career, he has allowed 4.48 earned runs per nine with a 21% strikeout rate and 5.6% walk rate. That includes 112 2/3 innings in 2025 over 19 starts and six relief appearances with a 3.04 ERA, 22.2% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate.

This release frees up a roster spot for Atlanta. RosterResource pegs the club for a 40-man count of 37, once all free agents officially hit the open market and guys are reinstated from the injured list. They have club options on Chris Sale, Tyler Kinley, Ozzie Albies and Pierce Johnson, so they’ll need to open one more spot if they plan to pick up all those options. They will presumably want to add some players before the Rule 5 protection deadline, in addition to signing free agents or making trade acquisitions, so more moves may be over the horizon. Wiles, meanwhile, will look for his next opportunity.

Photo courtesy of Jordan Godfree, Imagn Images

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Atlanta Braves Transactions Nathan Wiles

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Braves Name Walt Weiss New Manager

By Darragh McDonald | November 3, 2025 at 11:55pm CDT

The Braves have a new manager and it’s an internal hire. The club announced today that Walt Weiss is the club’s new skipper. Weiss has been the club’s bench coach for many years but now gets a chance to take on a bigger role. Weiss reportedly signed a three-year contract with an option for 2029.

Weiss, 61, played in the majors from 1987 to 2000. The final three seasons of his playing career were spent in Atlanta. After hanging up his spikes, he pivoted into other roles with the Rockies, first as a special advisor to the front office. He then moved into the manager’s chair and was the skipper in Colorado for four years, beginning in 2013. The club had a losing record in all four of those campaigns, finishing each with between 66 and 75 wins, before Weiss resigned.

Going into the 2018 season, Atlanta hired Weiss to the bench coach position, working as top lieutenant to manager Brian Snitker. That was actually a few days before it was reported that Alex Anthopoulos would be the club’s new front office leader. Atlanta had been rebuilding for the previous few years but they emerged as contenders in that 2018 campaign. They went 90-72, their first of what would eventually be six straight National League East division titles. They won the World Series in 2021.

After the 2022 season, Weiss got some reported interest from the Marlins for their managerial vacancy, though he turned down an interview request. He stayed in Atlanta, continuing to work under Snitker. Snitker announced about a month ago, just before his 70th birthday, that he would not be returning for another season as manager. The club kept their managerial search pretty close to the vest, leading mostly to speculation about who might replace Snitker.

Weiss will now be tasked with turning the club around after a rough patch. After those aforementioned six straight division titles, they slipped to second place and a Wild Card berth last year. Here in 2025, they dropped all the way down to 76 wins and a fourth-place finish.

Expectations will continue to be high, as there is still a lot of talent on the roster. The poor results in 2025 involved several notable injuries and a PED suspension for Jurickson Profar. The club still has a core featuring Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Chris Sale and many others. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos will surely look to bolster the club for a return to form in 2026.

Anthopoulos has surely gotten to know Weiss well over the past eight years and feels he is the man to skipper the club back to greatness. What remains to be seen is if Weiss will shake up the coaching staff, but hiring a new bench coach to replace himself should be one item on the to-do list.

David O’Brien of The Athletic reported the three-year deal with the option. Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

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Atlanta Braves Newsstand Walt Weiss

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Ha-Seong Kim Opts Out Of Braves Deal

By Anthony Franco | November 3, 2025 at 1:43pm CDT

Middle infielder Ha-Seong Kim is opting out of his deal with the Braves, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He passes on a $16MM salary to return to the open market.

It’s a disappointing but not entirely unexpected development for Atlanta. The Braves claimed Kim off waivers from the Rays at the beginning of September. They weren’t competing but hoped to lock in their starting shortstop for the ’26 season. They instead wound up taking on the remaining $2MM of Kim’s 2025 salary for the final month of a lost season.

Maybe that’ll still turn out to be a worthwhile decision. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said in September he hoped that getting Kim acclimated with the Atlanta organization and clubhouse would give them a leg up even if the infielder decided to head back to free agency. They’ll certainly make an effort to bring him back, but Nick Allen is atop the depth chart at shortstop for the time being.

For the second straight winter, Kim hits free agency with significant questions. He had an outside shot at a nine-figure deal over the 2024-25 offseason until he suffered a labrum tear in his right shoulder in August. Kim required season-ending surgery, leading the Padres to decline to issue him a qualifying offer. He signed a two-year deal with the Rays that guaranteed $29MM and allowed him to retest the market after one year.

Kim’s rehab from the shoulder procedure carried into July. He’d wind up going back on the injured list twice more as he battled lower back issues. Those stints were brief, but his time in Tampa Bay consisted of 24 games with a .214/.290/.321 batting line. It’s certainly not what the Rays wanted for what amounted to nearly $11MM on their part. They were happy to shed the contract in the final month, getting them off the hook for the ’26 option.

The brief stint in Atlanta was a little more encouraging. Kim played 24 games with the Braves. He hit three homers with a .253/.316/.368 slash in 98 trips to the plate. That included a 10-game hit streak in the middle of September, though he recorded only two hits in 25 plate appearances in the final week of the season. He concluded with a .234/.304/.345 line across 191 trips to the plate.

Kim’s camp nevertheless feels he’ll be able to find a multi-year contract that is preferable to the $16MM option. They’ll be aided by the lack of middle infield alternatives on the open market. Assuming Trevor Story doesn’t opt out of the two years and $55MM remaining on his contract with Boston, Kim would be the second-best free agent shortstop after Bo Bichette.

He’ll hit the market without any draft compensation, as the Braves are not permitted to make a qualifying offer because he changed teams midseason. Kim could try to max out on a three-year deal or look for another two-year pact with an opt-out similar to the one he got from Tampa Bay. His old team in San Diego could look for a shortstop to push Xander Bogaerts back to second base. The Giants, Tigers, Royals, Pirates and Brewers are other clubs that look for help at one or both middle infield positions.

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Atlanta Braves Newsstand Transactions Ha-Seong Kim

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Offseason Outlook: Atlanta Braves

By Mark Polishuk | October 27, 2025 at 7:32pm CDT

A barrage of pitching injuries and some underwhelming offensive performances resulted in Atlanta's first losing record and non-playoff season since 2017.  The Braves can't rely just on better health to improve next year, as the club will at least explore upgrades at multiple roster spots.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Austin Riley, 3B: $155MM through 2029 ($20MM club option for 2030)
  • Matt Olson, 1B: $88MM through 2029 ($20MM club option for 2030)
  • Spencer Strider, SP: $69MM through 2028 (includes $5MM buyout of $22MM club option for 2029)
  • Michael Harris II, OF: $54MM through 2030 (includes $5MM buyout of $15MM club option for 2031; Braves also have $20MM club option for 2032 with $5MM buyout)
  • Sean Murphy, C: $45MM through 2028 ($15MM club option for 2029)
  • Jurickson Profar, OF: $30MM through 2027
  • Ronald Acuna Jr., OF: $27MM through 2026 (includes $10MM buyout of $17MM club option for 2027; Braves hold $17MM club option for 2028)
  • Reynaldo Lopez, SP: $22MM through 2027
  • Aaron Bummer, RP: $9.5MM through 2026
  • Joe Jimenez, RP: $9MM through 2026

Option Decisions

  • Chris Sale, SP: $18MM club option for 2026
  • Ha-Seong Kim, SS: $16MM player option for 2026
  • Ozzie Albies, 2B: $7MM club option for 2026 ($4MM buyout); Braves also hold $7MM club option for 2027
  • Pierce Johnson, RP: $7MM club option for 2026 ($250K buyout)
  • Tyler Kinley, RP: $5MM club option for 2026 ($750K buyout)

2026 financial commitments (if all options are exercised): $204.5MM
Total long-term financial commitments (if all options are exercised) = $561.5MM

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projected salaries courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

  • Jake Fraley (5.097): $3.6MM
  • Joel Payamps (4.117): $3.4MM
  • Jose Suarez (4.064): $1.5MM
  • Alek Manoah (4.063): $2.2MM
  • Dylan Lee (3.150): $1.9MM
  • Eli White (3.140): $1.2MM
  • Vidal Brujan (3.014): $800K
  • Joey Wentz (2.166): $1.1MM
  • Nick Allen (2.164): $1.5MM
  • Non-tender candidates: Suarez, Fraley, Payamps, Manoah, Brujan, Wentz

Free Agents

  • Marcell Ozuna, Raisel Iglesias, Carlos Carrasco, Charlie Morton, Sandy Leon, Jarred Kelenic, Alexis Diaz, Dane Dunning, Luke Williams

At the time of this post's publication, the Braves still haven't settled on a new manager.  The team's hope was that Brian Snitker would return for an 11th season as manager, but Snitker will instead move into an advisory role for his 50th season in the organization.  Snitker's decade in the manager's chair included six NL East titles and the 2021 World Series championship, but this outstanding run ended on the down note of a 76-86 record in 2025.

It is hard to imagine any manager could've shepherded this year's Braves team to glory given how nearly the entire rotation was lost to the injured list.  Even with their season slipping away due to an 8-17 record in July, the Braves were one of the more active buyers (to some extent) leading up to the trade deadline just because the team was in such need of short-term rotation help.

Bryce Elder (and his 5.30 ERA) led all Atlanta pitchers with 156 1/3 innings, with Chris Sale finishing in second with only 125 2/3 frames.  Sale missed over two months due to a ribcage fracture, but naturally his club option is still a lock to be exercised.  Spencer Strider's recovery from internal brace surgery and a hamstring strain limited him to 125 1/3 innings, and he understandably didn't look nearly as dominant as he did in his All-Star 2023 season.  Reynaldo Lopez made just one start before arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder ended up sidelining him for the rest of the season.  Spencer Schwellenbach (fractured elbow) and AJ Smith-Shawver (Tommy John surgery) were each pitching well before their seasons were ended in June.  Grant Holmes' season was ended by a partially torn UCL in late July, and his status remains a question mark since Holmes is trying to rehab the injury without surgery.

Assuming no more offseason health woes, Sale, Strider, and Schwellenbach have places assured in Atlanta's rotation.  Former top prospect Hurston Waldrep pitched well in his first extended taste of MLB action and put himself in line for a starting job in 2026.  Holmes and Lopez are both tentatively penciled into the rotation for now, with the caveats of Holmes' health and the possibility that Lopez could be transitioned back into a bullpen role.  Back in September, Anthopoulos stressed that the club still views Lopez as a starter, "but what if we have a bunch of starter trades that present themselves and so on?  It would be a great problem to have."

Needless to say, the Braves are planning to bring at least one new addition into the starting mix.  The fact that Anthopoulos mentioned trading for a starter first and foremost might hint at his preferred plan, which makes sense given how Anthopoulos has traditionally shied away from big-ticket free agent signings during his front office career.  Anthopoulos has swung several creative trades over the years, and as we'll explore later, some players on the current big league roster could be trade chips just as easily as members of the Atlanta farm system.

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2025-26 Offseason Outlook Atlanta Braves Front Office Originals

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