Under normal circumstances, one of the offseason events on the calendar that draws a lot of attention from Atlanta Braves fans is the Winter Meetings. While not as busy as they used to be, the Winter Meetings are when we get a host of offseason free agent and trade rumors that form the basis for the rumor mill for the rest of the offseason. Unfortunately, it is exceedingly unlikely that the Winter Meetings won't happen this year, which means this week's GM meetings are set to have outsized importance.
As of now, MLB is set to enter a lockout on December 2, 2026, which means that the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires and all league business, including signings and trades, stops until a new CBA is agreed to. Based on the positions the owners and players have taken so far, we could be waiting a while before we are back to business as usual.
The impending lockout has led to a lot of speculation that the month of November could be very busy for every team, including the Braves, with the frenzy potentially starting at the GM meetings. So what are the GM meetings? Well, we have you covered.
GM Meetings could replace the Winter Meetings this year, which means Alex Anthopoulos can't waste any time
Every year, the GM meetings happen in November as a way for all of the league's executives to get the ball rolling with all of the usual league business. From rule changes to boring league procedural issues to potential transactions, the GM meetings served as a starting point for those conversations early and laid the groundwork for the decisions made at the Winter Meetings. There have been moves made at the GM meetings in the past, but typically this has been when the ice is broken in talks, not when deals get across the finish line.
This year is very different. With the lockout coming and the likely cancellation of this year's Winter Meetings, the GM meetings this year represent basically the only chance where all of the league's top executives and agents are going to be in the same building. While it may still take some time to close a lot of deals afterwards, you can bet that we will see some moves and a whole lot of rumors come out this week.
If you are Alex Anthopoulos, the stakes are very high. The Braves have some severe roster needs (shortstop, rotation, bullpen, and maybe left field), and they only have about three weeks to make the moves they want to make unless they want to take their chances during the inevitable chaos after the lockout (hopefully) ends.
Does that mean the Braves have to address every one of their needs this week? Absolutely not. However, they can't treat the GM meetings as an afterthought this year. Real progress with free agents and trade targets has to happen. If the Braves fumble the ball here, they could very quickly find themselves on the outside looking in the rest of the offseason.
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