Baseball’s Winter Meetings, which are roughly a month away, have been the stage for some of the biggest offseason moves in the history of the sport. Last year alone, Juan Soto, Andrés Giménez, Max Fried, and Garrett Crochet either were traded or signed massive deals during the event. While the Braves haven’t historically been as active during the wheeling and dealing, the meetings offer a deadline for moves, such as signing a shortstop, finding pitching depth, and engaging in trade talks, that need to be made before the bidding war takes place.
The Braves' first order of business is to sign Ha-Seong Kim. His price will only rise as the hot stove gets going. With few shortstops on the market, the Braves essentially have three choices: re-sign Kim, go after Bo Bichette, or engage in a trade. Kim is the cheapest option among the three, and Atlanta may need to save some coin to make a bigger splash.
The Braves could get ahead of the game by making these moves before the Winter Meetings.
That bigger deal will likely come in the form of pitching. While big-name position players waited until the Winter Meetings to ink a contract last year, several starters found deals in November. Blake Snell, Yusei Kikuchi, Frankie Montas, and Matthew Boyd all signed prior to the meetings. Snell and Boyd came with injury concerns, and Kikuchi and Montas weren’t coming off the best contract years. Perhaps the Braves could find a similarly risky player, like Tyler Mahle, to fill out their rotation depth.
The Braves also want to avoid the trade frenzy that takes place at the Winter Meetings. Instead, they could strike early in an attempt to find a fourth outfielder to help address Marcell Ozuna’s departure. Last year, Atlanta opened the offseason with the Jorge Soler trade, and the Braves could be just as swift in 2025.
There isn’t a mid-level outfield market in free agency, so a trade will have to be the course of action here. But trades quickly compound in cost during the Winter Meetings. If the Braves want to continue to build a viable prospect pool and still capture a useful bat, the time to pounce is now. Players like Jarren Duran won’t be available forever. Then the Winter Meetings can be icing on the cake of the Braves’ early moves.