Heading into the offseason Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos claimed that the organization was looking at increasing payroll and that the luxury tax would not be a factor in making moves. These words excited Braves fans but for now, those same fans are disappointed at the moment.
There have been numerous free agent signings that have undoubtedly made teams better while the Braves have done the bare minimum this offseason. While the Braves seem to be relying on their current roster remaining healthy in 2025, there were some free agents taken off the board that would have been nice to see in a Braves uniform.
Signing Corbin Burnes would have been an amazing, narrative-changing Braves signing
Going into 2025, the Braves' starting rotation needs some help. Max Fried is now with the Yankees, Charlie Morton is likely retiring, Spencer Strider will not be ready for Opening Day and Chris Sale cannot be expected to repeat his 2024 performance.
Corbin Burnes would have been a great fit for the Braves. He has proven success at the big league level and a great deal of wisdom he could pass down to the younger hurlers like Spencer Schwellenbach. Burnes has been an All-Star each of the last four seasons and holds a career 3.19 ERA across seven seasons.
Burnes signed a deal with the Diamondbacks for 6 years/$210 million. That is a bunch of years and a lot of money that is usually out of Atlanta's price range. However, this is still less than it would have taken to retain Max Fried and for the Braves to have immediate success, they needed to roll the dice on a deal like this.
Corbin Burnes, Frisbee 84mph Sweeper. 🥏
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 1, 2024
21 inches of horizontal break. pic.twitter.com/9ERXwyqzCz
Tyler O'Neill could have solved the Braves' outfield woes
In addition to the starting rotation having vacancy, the Braves outfield also feels depleted. Ronald Acuna Jr. is not expected to be ready by Opening Day and Jorge Soler was traded to the Angels earlier this offseason. This leaves Michael Harris II and Jarred Kelenic.
After the failed experiment of playing Kelenic every day, it is hard to imagine Brian Snitker is comfortable using him as a regular starter. Tyler O'Neill could have been plugged in at any three outfield positions and improved the team defensively. O'Neill is also coming off of a 31 homer season so his power would have been an assest in a hitter's stadium like Truist Park.
O'Neill signed a 3 year/$49.5 million deal with the Orioles. In today's world, this would almost be considered a budget signing considering the recent success O'Neill has had and how nicely he would have fit into the Braves 2025 puzzle.
Unfortunately, the Braves' chances to add Shane Bieber may have been doomed from the start
Alex Anthopoulos usually excels at making low-risk, high-reward deals. That is exactly what Shane Bieber would have been. The 30 year old is coming off of Tommy John surgery and actually won't be ready until midway through the 2025 season. However, when he does return, he has the potential to be absolutely great.
Bieber is a 2x All-Star with a Cy Young Award, Triple Crown Award and ERA title. The Guardians retained him on a one year/$10 million contract plus a $16 million player option in 2026. This deal would have worked nicely for the Braves as it would have kept room for other big deals while insuring that reinforcements could still be on their way halfway through the season if things didn't work out. However, Bieber already said he preferred to stay in Cleveland from the beginning and left money on the table to stay with the Guardians.
There are still some free agents out there that would fit nicely into the future plans of the Atlanta Braves. Jack Flaherty, Nathan Eovaldi, Ha-Seong Kim, Max Scherzer and Jurickson Profar are all names Atlanta Braves fans should pay attention to. However, as we have seen the Braves are willing to be more than patient and if none of these players seem like a perfect fit, AA will not pull the trigger on an offer.