While the 2025 season is one that Atlanta Braves fans are hoping to forget for a number of reasons, one of the bright spots was most definitely Grant Holmes. There was certainly a lot of skepticism at the start of the season about the Braves being enamored with Holmes. However, as the season continued on, Holmes became one of Atlanta's best pitchers and it looked like the Braves' decision had been vindicated. Hell, Holmes probably pitched the best game of the Braves' entire season with a 15 strikeout performance against the Rockies.
Unfortunately, an elbow injury in late July changed everything. Not only did Holmes' injury mean that every single member of the Braves' rotation was on the injured list (which was not great), but it raised real questions about his availability in 2026 despite Holmes' decision to not have surgery (for now).
While Holmes has been declaring he would be ready for a while now, outside observers were skeptical as the number of pitchers that suffer partial UCL tears that don't end up having Tommy John or an internal brace procedure is small. However, the latest update on Holmes courtesy of Alex Anthopoulos at the Winter Meetings revealed that Holmes is in a really good place right now.
Alex Anthopoulos said the #Braves are treating Grant Holmes like any other healthy pitcher now; he’s had no setbacks in non-surgical recovery from partial UCL tear. He talked to Holmes today and Grant told AA his stuff is better than before injury, after rest and strengthening.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) December 7, 2025
A healthy Grant Holmes probably means the Braves aren't spending big on a starter this offseason
Now, it is important to take any comments (especially during the offseason) from Anthopoulos with a big grain of salt. AA just isn't going to say or do anything that would make Atlanta's potential position in talks weaker. The odds that he would ever admit any level of desperation or need that he doesn't want to are near zero.
That said, this Holmes update seems too specific to just be GM speak. Anthopoulos essentially said that the Braves consider Holmes to be completely healthy with no current concerns about his elbow. Presumably, that means that Holmes is close to being a lock for the Opening Day roster and will get a chance to prove he is healthy from day one.
Obviously, this changes the calculus for the Braves this offseason. Instead of having to guard against injuries, they have Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo Lopez/Hurston Waldrep, and now Holmes ready to go with Joey Wentz, Bryce Elder, and JR Ritchie waiting in the wings. The Braves are still saying that adding starting pitching remains a priority, but Holmes being healthy does seemingly mean that Atlanta is more likely to just add a fringe depth starter than someone that they need to lean on.
What does this mean for the rest of the Braves' offseason? Well, it does seemingly free up some resources to pursue a real shortstop and/or another high leverage reliever. Now that the Winter Meetings are starting up, we may get a sense of their next steps very, very soon.