Everyone is aware at this point that the Atlanta Braves have some roster holes to fill this offseason. Ronald Acuna Jr. is likely to miss the first month and a half of the 2025 season, so the Braves need a short-term replacement for him in the outfield to guard against early season struggles. Atlanta has also been connected to multiple starters this offseason which, again, makes sense as they face an impending reality without Max Fried and Charlie Morton. However, there has been little discussion about the Braves' bullpen.
With AJ Minter a free agent as well as hurt along with the news that Joe Jimenez will be out for a long time, Atlanta's bullpen looks very sketchy all of a sudden. There was a time where the Braves' relief corps was deep enough that trading Raisel Iglesias for some salary relief had some merit, but that is no longer the case. Jimenez's injury, Minter's uncertain future, and the departures of Jesse Chavez and Luke Jackson has the Braves' bullpen in surprisingly rough shape depth-wise.
Alex Anthopoulos loves adding bullpen arms, so that helps and the Braves recently took a flier on Connor Gillispie which could help. However, Braves beat writer Mark Bowman seems to think that Atlanta could target a "legit" high leverage relief arm as soon as the upcoming Winter Meetings.
2024 PitchingNinja Award for Funniest "Mastrobuoni" Joke. 🤣🏆
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) November 22, 2024
Winner: Brandon Gaudin (2nd consecutive year)
"Brad Hand is no longer here. Pierce Johnson is on the IL. So, it's a solo mission for Mastrobuoni tonight...which is kinda fitting I suppose." pic.twitter.com/4SAwr9Xh7r
Braves could be in the market for a high-end late inning reliever this offseason
While this portion of Atlanta's offseason shopping list hasn't gotten a ton of attention this offseason, Bowman is spot on here. Iglesias has the closer spot locked down and Pierce Johnson is a quality setup arm. However, the bullpen gets pretty speculative after that and, as things stand, the Braves have to hope that some number of the recently added Gillispie, Daysbel Hernandez, and/or Aaron Bummer among others step up next season.
Anthopoulos isn't the kind of executive to leave things to chance like that and he definitely loves making moves for relievers. The top of the relief market with guys like Devin Williams and Tanner Scott feels like a bit much, but there are a host of quality non-closer relievers available right now including old friend Michael Soroka.
Exactly how much the Braves are willing to spend on a "legit" reliever is a fair question as Bowman notes that current salary projections have Atlanta about $24 million worth of room below the first luxury tax threshold. Atlanta is probably willing to go over that a bit, but the escalating tax on any overage as a third year luxury tax offender is going to restrict them a bit.
If the Braves want to go after an arm that is going to cost real money like Nathan Eovaldi or Sean Manaea, then any bullpen additions are probably going to be on the cheaper side. However, if they have more confidence in their internal starting options than they are letting on or if they can land Garrett Crochet in a trade, the door opens for a big splash for a bullpen piece.