Alex Anthopoulos and the rest of his team enter the offseason with the task of improving an already solid Atlanta Braves roster. The Braves already have a solid core of proven All-Star level talent locked up long-term, but that doesn't mean the roster can't be further improved.
There are a variety of avenues Anthopoulos and his team can take when attempting to improve the Braves roster. He could look for trade partners and utilize some of the prospects the Braves have on the farm.
Alternatively, Anthopoulos could bank on some of those prospects contributing next season, like one Spencer Schwellenbach did this year. However, it's most likely AA dips into the free agent market in order to build up the 2025 Braves squad. A few days ago fans got some great news in regards to Anthopoulos' free agency pathway...he will have money to spend.
Anthopoulos expects payroll to rise in 2025
During Anthopoulos' exit interviews with the media a few days ago, he revealed some key notes for the Braves offseason. His expectation for payroll to increase in 2025 was one of the major takeaways from his interview.
Braves payroll will continue increasing, Alex Anthopoulos said. They’ve been a tax team last two years.
— Gabe Burns (@GabeBurnsAJC) October 4, 2024
This is a huge sigh of relief for Braves fans, who have often been skeptic about the front office ponying up the dough for the best players. However, in recent years the front office has been more than willing to spend the neccessary money needed to field a good baseball team.
In fact the Braves entered 2024 with an estimated $223 million in payroll. At last year's trade deadline Anthopoulos stated that Atlanta's luxury tax number was just under the $277 million threshold (which is third tier of penalization).
It's great news for the Braves as they have a lot of money coming off the books in 2025. Max Fried and Charlie Morton were expensive starters who will be free agents this offseason. Where the Braves allocate these funds will be the important piece of the offseason.
As expected, Anthopoulos wasn't ready to give a finite number on the expected 2025 payroll. However, he did say he knows payroll isn't going down. That statement alone should give fans enough confidence that Anthopoulos can do what is needed to build a championship contender in 2025.