Improvement in several areas is the goal every offseason for Alex Anthopoulos and the rest of his front office staff. The Atlanta Braves have the makings of a solid roster already in place, but as we saw in 2024 there's still areas of the game this team can improve at.
The Braves still feel like a dangerous team entering 2025, but that doesn't mean there isn't work to be done this offseason. In this article we'll point out some focus areas for Anthopoulos to key in on as he attempts to build another championship contender.
Improve on-base percentage in the lineup
One thing is clear about the Atlanta Braves offense and it's that they are too reliant on the home run ball to score runs. Atlanta needs to improve their OBP skills this offseason. In 2024 the Braves tied for 16th with the Washington Nationals with a team .309 OBP.
Matt Olson, Jorge Soler, Ronald Acuña Jr., Sean Murphy, and Marcell Ozuna all have the ability to draw walks. Each of those listed played carried a walk percentage of at least 10% in 2024.
However, the team BB% ranked in the middle of the pack at just 8.0%. Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies are two of the most aggressive hitters in baseball and given their talent they're going to be in the lineup daily. Upgrading shortstop or a corner outfield spot with a better OBP guy would go a long way towards making the Braves offense lethal once again.
Get better against right-handed pitching
It's been a problem for a long time, but Atlanta really struggled against good right-handed pitching in 2024. It's not all that surprising for a team with as many lefty mashers as they have. However, the Braves must find a way to get better against RHP in 2025.
This past season the team slashed .239/.304/.404 against righties. Their team 96 wRC+ ranked 19th in baseball. The simple solution is for the Braves to get a bit more left-handed this winter. As constructed the lineup only offers Matt Olson, Michael Harris II, and the weaker side of switch-hitting Ozzie Albies as viable threats against right-handed pitchers.
In an ideal world the Braves could find a left-handed hitting corner outfielder to improve these struggles, but truthfully the answer could be another right-handed hitter. As crazy as it sounds free agent to be Willy Adames had some pretty drastic splits this past season, and most of his production actually came against RHP's despite Adames being a right-handed hitter himself.
Against RHP's Adames slashed .271/.340/.511 and hit 28 of his 32 home runs. Against LHP's Adames slashed .191/.307/.316 in over 150 at-bats. Whether it's Adames or another player the Braves have to improve against the pitching side they will see more than 70% of the time.
Be more athletic on the basepaths
Once MLB implemented the bigger bases and new pickoff rules teams finally began to get more aggressive on the basepaths once again. The rule changes did exactly what MLB wanted, once again making speed a coveted part of roster construction.
However, the Braves are not stockpiled with the athletic roadrunners needed to take advantage of these new rules. In fact the team ranked last in sprint speed in 2024.
One clear goal for AA this offseason…find a way to get more speed in the lineup. The Braves ranked dead last in sprint speed in 2024. pic.twitter.com/46a7cAuGa2
— Chase Owens (@chaseowens96) October 18, 2024
It's expected for a team that features two of the slowest players in baseball in Matt Olson and Marcell Ozuna. And that lack of speed translated in the stolen base department as well. The team ranked sixth worst in baseball with just 62 stolen bases. Despite playing in under 50 games Ronald Acuña Jr. led the team with 16 steals.
Add innings eater in the rotation
Lastly the Braves have an under the radar problem this offseason to get ahead of the curve on. Yes the Braves were excellent in run prevention last season, and the rotation in particular shined. However, when you take a step back you can see how the rotation can quickly become a question mark in 2025.
Max Fried seems to be headed elsewhere in free agency, and veteran Charlie Morton could be retiring. Those two potential departures would create a lot of innings to replace in the rotation. Then you're looking at leaning on a 36 year-old Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach (who has thrown less than 300 innings in pro ball), Reynaldo Lopez (entering his second season since converting back from reliever), and Spencer Strider (coming off an elbow injury).
All of that screams for Alex Anthopoulos to be proactive and make a move to bring in stability for the rotation. Yes, the Braves have ample pitching prospects who could fill the void, but they'd be better served bringing in a veteran who offers more stability. The question will be if Anthopoulos can find that guy and bring him in this offseason.