Sign Sonny Gray
This is the biggest move that the Braves need to make happen as soon as humanly possible. Starting pitching is the strength of this free agent market to be sure, but a lot of the top names come with a fair amount of risk whether it be inexperience, injury history, or questions about their pitching profile. Sonny Gray doesn't come without some warts on his resume, but the fit with the Braves and how they like to operate is too good to pass up.
Gray has dealt with some injuries in the past and he is 34 years old, but he also has averaged a 3.22 ERA over the last five seasons with 9.8 K/9 and he just finished second in the AL Cy Young race in 2023. Unlike (probably) guys like Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Gray also isn't likely to require a long-term deal with a three or four year contract probably being sufficient.
For a Braves team that does not like to give free agents (especially pitchers) long-term, big money deals, Gray is right in their wheelhouse. With Max Fried's future in Atlanta very much in question and Charlie Morton's career winding down, the Braves need to solidify the top of their rotation and Gray is a perfect match for what Atlanta would like to do this offseason.
Of course, the issue is that half the league at least would love to add Gray as well and that makes getting a deal done quickly problematic. Gray's camp is likely fielding calls all day, every day as he tries to make a decision on where he is going to play next season and beyond. It is possible that he knows that if he waits, more teams could enter the fray for his services and that will mean more money potentially headed his way. If the Braves want to avoid a bidding war, they are going to need to make a strong offer and quickly while having a strong back-up plan if that doesn't work out.