While they will never be the free spenders of the league like the Dodgers and Mets, the Atlanta Braves have still been among the most consistent teams in baseball over the last several years when it comes to their payroll ranking in the top 10 or so. Coming off a horrid 2025 season, there has been zero indication that Atlanta will make any cuts to payroll and it feels as though Alex Anthopoulos could be busy address various roster holes this offseason. However, there is at least one warning sign that the Braves may not be as active as fans are hoping.
The question as to whether or no the Braves should bring back Raisel Iglesias has been an interesting one to ponder. For as bad as Iglesias was in the first half (and he was quite bad), he looked amazing in the second half and that plus his track record could hold a lot of weight. However, Braves insider Mark Bowman recently wrote a bit of a preview of what's next for the Braves and in that piece, he seemed to imply that keeping Iglesias could come down to how Atlanta approaches their rotation issues.
There are already hints that Braves' resources could be limited this offseason
With any team, there is going to be opportunity costs. You can't have everything you want and if you spend big on one or two roster spots, it probably means you can't go crazy on others. However, that Bowman identified Iglesias' return as in jeopardy because of other moves, it is a little concerning.
At Iglesias' age and coming off a rocky season, he shouldn't be prohibitively expensive and, barring something wild happening, he should not even get the $16 million AAV he received the last several years. Let's say, hypothetically, that Iglesias will have to settle for $12 million a year on a two year deal with an option for a third. That that amount could get torpedoed by spending on a depth rotation arm makes one wonder how much money the Braves have to spend even with Iglesias and Marcell Ozuna coming off the books.
The bigger issue here may be how much it will take to keep Ha-Seong Kim around in addition to the team's other roster priorities and that makes a bit more sense than being worried just about rotation spending. It is very possible that Atlanta will have to spend big to keep Kim around and that PLUS adding a decent-sized salary to the rotation could change some things.
However, that isn't how it should go. If keeping Kim and signing a rotation arm would prevent taking on another $12 million or whatever, Atlanta needs to re-evaluate their priorities. The Braves' bullpen needs real help and the team at least has internal options to fill in in the rotation in a pinch. If they really do think there is a forced choice, perhaps bringing back Iglesias or adding another high leverage reliever should take priority.