Atlanta Braves direction as the Winter Meetings begin isn’t a secret
Braves beat reporters asked Alex Anthopoulos the same questions they've asked in the past at the start of the Winter Meetings, and he answered, but we know no more now than we did yesterday.
Do the Atlanta Braves need pitching?
It wasn’t posed as an ITSST question, but asked about pitching, Anthopoulos said they had the number but could use more.
#Braves want to go into season with 10-11 pitchers who can give them starts, and Anthopoulos said they have that, but it wouldn't stop them from adding another in right deal. Projected OD rotation is Fried/Strider/Morton/Elder/Lopez, but Lopez can go to pen if they add a starter
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) December 3, 2023
We know from past experience that Fried’s blister could reappear anytime, Morton is older and not likely to give a lot of innings, and Elder’s first half of 2023 is an outlier, not the norm. Lopez may return to the rotation, but he may also end up in the pen.
I suspect any Atlanta Braves fan can name five starters now on the roster or in the system that could start games next year, but Anthopoulos had to answer that question too.
He also said the current pitching pool." wouldn't stop them from adding another in the right deal." No POBO or GM who wants to keep the job will turn down the right deal if it drops on the desk.
GMs get paid to make the right deal – a deal that improves their team at the right price in dollars, prospects, or a combination of the two, and pass on the wrong ones.
Atlanta Braves additions and deals not made
When it comes to player acquisitions, the Atlanta Braves front office doesn’t leak information. Agents may leak information to improve their client’s market, and another team may hint at a proposed trade to get a better deal elsewhere, but the Braves front office doesn’t leak.
Asked about the team’s attempts to add players other than those we know about, he said the Braves had tried.
Alex Anthopoulos said the Braves already explored a significant addition. It did not work out, but perhaps this is an example of the Braves having considerable room to add — given they like the player and deal.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) December 3, 2023
Anthopoulos stepped directly on the neck of writers who wrote, tweeted, or said in a live interview that they knew what the team had offered a player.
Anthopoulos reiterated what he's said before, that almost any rumor that has a specific offer #Braves made for a FA or trade proposal, is false. Said he's seen things written about specific offers they made this winter, and none were accurate. They strive for no leaks, as always.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) December 3, 2023
The Braves made an offer or offers to one or more players but the specific offers quoted by any writer anywhere weren't correct. Until deals are formally announced, any published deal is pure speculation and didn't come from the Braves.
Epilogue
Writers have to meet a deadline every day, and their only sources of material, until there’s some actual news, are interviews and unnamed sources at the coffee shop.
At the deadline and the Winter meetings in particular, don't get too excited about a report until changes from nearing completion, and even then, it may fall through, as the Carlos Correa deal showed last year.
GMs or POBOs like the Atlanta Braves Alex Anthopoulos need to give interviews to answer questions, squash rumors, and remain engaged with fans. His answers are only restating the obvious, but there’s nothing else he can do until a deal is done.
We here at HTHB have to write about rumors as well, but we ignore rumors from the third stool just before the flush and attempt to offer context to those from recognized sources. I think we do that pretty well.
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