The Atlanta Braves under Alex Anthopoulos have been very good about locking up this young core that the Braves have built over the last several years. Ever since the Braves signed Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies to extensions back in 2019, the Braves have consistently handed out extensions to homegrown talent and new acquisitions alike with Matt Olson, Spencer Strider, Austin Riley, Michael Harris, and Sean Murphy all also getting locked up beyond their arbitration years as well.
This strategy isn't without risk or downside. While all of these guys seem likely to outperform the terms of their deals to varying degrees (still have no idea how the Braves got Ozzie to sign his deal), many of these guys signed very early on in their careers which could easily not work out and any long-term guaranteed deal could turn into an albatross in a hurry if things go south. Moreover, all of these contracts end up weighing heavily on the Braves when it comes to the luxury tax as that is calculated based on the average value of a player's contract, not just what they are owed for a given year.
All of that said, the Braves front office's strategy is a sound one. Making sure these guys are in the fold allows for a lot better financial planning and cost control for the future and seemingly insures that this Braves team is going to be a good for a long time. However, there are a couple contract extension decisions out there that still need to be made.
Here are a couple contract extensions the Braves need to give out and one that they should avoid
As much good as all of these contract extensions have done for the Braves, they still need to be cautious. The last thing they want to do is commit a lot of years and money long-term to guys that won't last for the full course of the deal. Moreover, there is a price point for every player that becomes unreasonable and Atlanta shouldn't force extensions on over-market deals if they have any desire to remain aggressive in adding to their roster for future seasons.
Let's take a look at a couple Braves players that absolutely deserve contract extensions in some form as well as one the Braves should probably avoid.