Offseason content is officially here, and Alex Anthopoulos is facing one of the most important winters of his Braves tenure. Not many people expected the Braves to be sitting on the sideline as the postseason got underway, but alas the 2025 season caught us all by surprise.
There are plenty of questions Anthopoulos will have to answer this winter as he attempts to reconstruct the Braves into a winning team. Some questions impact the offseason more than others, but these five questions we've cooked up will go a long way in determining what type of offseason Atlanta has.
Five important questions Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos must answer this winter
Who will manage the Braves next season?
We have to start at the top, and who runs the day to day operations from the dugout is a pretty important question that needs answering. Brian Snitker's end of season comments only made the future more cloudy, and without Snit under contract for 2026 the Braves have to answer this question for the first time since 2017.
Can the Braves retain Ha-Seong Kim?
The Atlanta Braves have struggled to find shortstop production for the last two seasons. In a savvy move Anthopoulos claimed Ha-Seong Kim from the Rays to play out the seasons final month with Atlanta. The move came with risk as the often injured Kim had a player option for $16 million in 2026. However, Kim played so well in his 24 games with Atlanta that him declining that option and testing free agent feels like the road we are headed down.
If the Braves fail to keep Kim in Atlanta then finding a suitable starter at shortstop feels like a tall task. The often mentioned Bo Bichette is the only other starting caliber shortstop on the free agent market, and even he doesn't come without flaws (and an expected high price tag). The best course of action is to retain Kim at all cost and the offseason becomes much easier to navigate.
Pitching anyone?
If this season taught us anything it's that you can truly never have enough pitching. Atlanta set a franchise record for number of starting pitchers used in a season thanks to their rotation being decimated by injuries. Free agent pitching never comes cheap, but it's abundantly clear Atlanta needs to bring in more help in the pitching department or they'll risk any other moves they make this winter being wasted.
What happens with Sean Murphy?
This single question could really be interpreted as multiple questions. Drake Baldwin was perhaps the brightest spot of the 2025 season, but is Atlanta ready to commit solely to him next season? On top of that trading Murphy who will be coming off surgery could lower the return you would get for him.
This brings the question, is it best to keep the DH spot open next season and carry both catchers? Marcell Ozuna is an impending free agent, and keeping the DH spot open next year makes keeping both Baldwin and Murphy more defensible. It would also allow for Ronald Acuña Jr. and Jurickson Profar to get some time at DH and keep their legs fresh over a 162 game season.
Run it back, or make a splash?
The final and perhaps most important question is just how aggressive is Anthopoulos on orchestrating a roster shake-up? The Braves have talent as constructed, but the last two years are evidence something isn't right. Should Anthopoulos bank on bounce back seasons from Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies, and Sean Murphy? Or is it time to finally trade a player Anthopoulos has given an extension? There is no shortage of directions this offseason can go, but once we know the answer to a few of these questions we will have a better idea of how the winter will go for the Atlanta Braves.