The Atlanta Braves ended 2024 with a CBT payroll that Roster Resource put at $276,995,508, just $3 million under the third CBT surcharge threshold. The club needed to make changes to the roster and hoped to reset their CBT clock while facing Built-in increases in payroll from existing contracts and arbitration.
On December 9, President of Baseball Operations Alex Anthopoulos said the Braves were willing to exceed the CBT, which was more of a signal that they would pay the right price for the right player even if they ended up over the CBT threshold than an announcement the checkbook was open.
Unfortunately, the right players didn’t want the price the Braves considered right, or the Braves walked away from deals because of concerns about the physicals.
Braves financial slight of hand and patience until players got tired of waiting
Anthopoulos started negotiating contracts designed to keep the actual (cash) payroll down but didn’t change the CBT hit.
Reynaldo Lopez agreed to receive his new $30M deal by receiving $8 million in 2025, $14 million in 2026, and $8 million in 2027. Aaron Bummer gave up the possibility of $15 million over two seasons for $13 million guaranteed money, receiving $3.5 million in 2023 and $9.5 million in 2026.
The Braves also declined the options on Travis d’Arnaud ($8 million) and Luke Jackson ($7 million) and made payroll space by trading Jorge Soler ($13 million) for arbitration-eligible Griffin Canning and releasing him. These moves cleared $33.5 million of actual payroll.
A period of minor moves and silence from the Braves before they pounced
The Braves did make a series of minor league deals to create depth, including the rare dive into the Rule 5 draft by selecting Anderson Pilar and Christian Cairo in the Rule 5 Draft. The most obvious break-glass-in-case-of-emergency move was signing Bryan De La Crus to a non-guaranteed split contract, but nothing that moved the payroll needle until the Profar signing.
Profar’s contract is pretty simple compared to all of the gyrations we see in some of the bigger free-agent deals. There’s no signing bonus, no deferred money, no opt-outs, no options or buyout, and no All-Star or Gold Glove bonus, he’ll receive $12 million this season and $15 million in the next two seasons. Finally, a contract everyone can read and understand.
The CBT isn’t affected by the difference in his annual pay; it’s 42 divided by 3 - $14M a year, but like the Bummer and Lopez contracts, it created some actual payroll room to offset known increases coming in 2026.
Braves still shopping?
Roster Resource estimates the current Atlanta Braves’ payroll – including the $6.5M in dead money on the Fletcher contract - at $212,335,000 and the CBT payroll at $230,343,334. Spotrac shows the Braves with a slightly lower payroll of $228,385,738. So the Braves have about $10 million left to play with and stay below the CBT, which, no matter what their public position, they’d prefer to do.
The way the new CBA calculates the CBT makes knowing exactly where they stand, but I’d expect that they’ll try to add pitching via a trade rather than a free-agent signing.
Anthopoulos said #Braves have payroll flexibility to add to rotation & bullpen, but said they're not close on a deal and made it clear any starter would have to make sense for them to block Holmes, Anderson, et al.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) January 24, 2025
(If I'm guessing, they add a reliever, no significant $ starter.)
That’s a Wrap
The Profar signing was just what the Braves needed. He has a reputation as a positive influence in the clubhouse, and his seasons with the Padres mean he knows how to win. While he’s not a great defender, he’ll significantly improve production at a reasonable cost, something the Braves badly needed after ranking near the bottom of the league in production from left field last year.
How the Braves use their remaining CBT space – if they decide to make another acquisition – is the big story between now and the end of Spring Training.