The Atlanta Braves certainly won't be rolling over after a challenging 2025 campaign. Resetting the luxury tax has done wonders for their books moving forward, and Atlanta looks poised to spend big to address needs and fill holes.
On that front, there's a lot of work to do. Alex Anthopoulos is prioritizing shortstop and rotation upgrades, but that doesn't mean the bullpen doesn't need some love as well. Braves relievers combined for a 4.19 ERA in 2025, which was 19th in baseball, and as it stands now, things look even bleaker out there whike Raisel Iglesias shops his services on the free-agent market.
It seems as if fixing the pen is a tertiary need in the front office's eyes, so while a reunion with Iglesias, who really turned it on in the second half, might be in the cards, it's going to come down to price. And there's some bad news on that front. The Los Angeles Dodgers are rumored to be sniffing around Iglesias, as they look to fill a long-time sore spot on their roster.
The Dodgers' interest in Raisel Iglesias to solve a long-running trouble spot could be bad news for a Braves' reunion with the star closer
The ninth inning has been unsettled for the Dodgers since they let Kenley Jansen walk and land in Atlanta ahead of the 2022 season. While it's not for lack of trying, Blake Treinen has been injury-prone and inconsistent, and the most recent attempts to fix the closer spot in LA, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, blew up in the Dodgers' faces.
As we've seen from those follies, the Dodgers have no problem throwing money at a problem, which could spell trouble for the Braves and their efforts to retain Iglesias.
It seems clear that, while the club would like to have him back, it's going to come down to what his demands are and what's left in the coffers after they figure out shortstop and the rotation. The mere presence of the Dodgers in his market, even if they ultimately pivot elsewhere, could raise his price tag to uncomfortable levels.
However, before fans start freaking out, the Dodgers are often linked to everyone. It was just the other day that reports of them being heavily interested in the one that got away, Devin Williams, first resurfaced. It wouldn't be a surprise to see them get into the very top of the closer market, either, and make a play for Edwin Diaz or Robert Suarez.
We're early in the process, so take everything with a grain of salt. There's a chance the Dodgers wreck this for the Braves, but there's also a shot that they wrap up their high-leverage reliever shopping elsewhere early, leading to any inflation in Iglesias' price to come crashing back down.
It will definitely be worth monitoring, and Anthopoulos would be wise to come up with a short list of backup plans fast, but it's not yet time to panic.