Braves Rumors: Dylan Cease, Marcell Ozuna trade, ERod
For a team that's already the odds-on favorite to win the 2024 World Series, and by a considerable margin at that, the Atlanta Braves have been quiet so far this offseason. This probably isn't for lack of trying — the Braves were linked to free agents Aaron Nola and Sonny Gray before they signed with the Phillies and Cardinals respectively — and GM Alex Anthopoulos should never be counted out or thought not to have a trick up his sleeve, especially not when the team decides to increase payroll.
Even though the hot stove has mostly been kept to a simmer in Atlanta so far and many dominoes across the league have yet to fall, it feels like just a matter of time, especially with Winter Meetings just around the corner. The Braves have been mentioned in tandem with many of the most high-profile free agents in their explorations this offseason: Nola, Gray, Shōta Imanaga, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, even Shohei Ohtani. It's no surprise; Atlanta is a destination for players who are interested in winning titles.
But rumors are still just rumors, and everyone knows that baseball rumors can spiral like nothing else. All it takes is anyone with even a smidge of authority tweeting about hearing things about a player or team (looking at you, Howie Rose) for a connection to be made. It's hard to sort through the noise, but herein lies our attempt to try. Here are three Braves rumors that could be of some merit.
Atlanta Braves Rumors: Could Dylan Cease be coming to Atlanta?
While most conversations and rumors have been centered around free agents so far, the name picking up the most steam following Sonny Gray's signing is Dylan Cease, who isn't a free agent but has emerged as one of the most sought-after trade chips. The White Sox have made it clear that everyone except perhaps Luis Robert Jr. is on the chopping block, ready to be all but given away to create something resembling a competitive team next year.
Atlanta already has an open line of communication with Chicago given their trade of five players, including Mike Soroka and Nicky Lopez, to Chicago for Aaron Bummer on Nov. 16. Cease, Chicago's ace, had a bit of a rough year, ending with a 4.58 ERA over 177 innings, but he's still young and he's only a year out from a 2022 season that placed him second in Cy Young voting. And anyway, who didn't have a rough year in Chicago?
Cease could round out a young and lethal 1-2-3 sequence behind Spencer Strider and Max Fried, provided the Braves could help facilitate a return to form for him. The knock on Cease is his BB/9 rate, which has average just over four throughout his career as opposed to Strider and Fried's, which have remained sub-three throughout their careers. However, if all three could stay healthy, they could potentially give the Braves 540 innings and hundreds of strikeouts between them. Cease's presence in Atlanta would also give them not just one but two of the best mustaches in all of MLB, which is not nothing.
Atlanta Braves Rumors: Is a Marcell Ozuna trade in the works?
Almost the entirety of the Braves' offensive core is expected to stay with the team next year, so it's no surprise that most of the names we saw on Atlanta's lineups everyday this year haven't been thrown around this offseason. Matt Olson, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Austin Riley are all young players who are expected to be retained by the team for another 5-10 years on annual amounts of money that work out very nicely for the team's payroll (which is to say that Atlanta signed them on absolute bargains). If the Braves are looking for trade pieces that will also allow them to get rid of some payroll burden, it leaves Marcell Ozuna — who is making $16.25 million, almost $4 million more than Acuña, until 2025 — as their best bet.
Ozuna is an incredibly effective DH, though even that seems like an understatement. At 33, he had a career best year in home runs and slugging (excluding the COVID-shortened season), second best in RBI, and third best in batting average, having seemingly found a second wind after his All-Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger 2017 season. The Braves have found themselves in an enviable position if their most expendable player still managed to hit 40 home runs and batted in 100 runs in 2023; it's even more enviable when you imagine what they might be able to get back for him.
Despite having an entire All-Star team on the field everyday, the Braves still need depth. With Ozuna, it could be possible for them to pull off something resembling their trade for Aaron Bummer, but in reverse, wherein Atlanta sends out Ozuna to get multiple players back. Although it's possible that Ozuna's troubles outside of baseball could hamper his worth, the right deal could absolutely still net the Braves multiple players in Ozuna's stead.
Atlanta Braves Rumors: Are the Braves courting Eduardo Rodriguez?
At the top of the mid-tier list or bottom of the top-tier list, depending on your persuasion, of free agent starting pitchers is Eduardo Rodriguez, who became a free agent after opting out of his contract with the Tigers, leaving $49 million behind in Detroit. Rodriguez's connection to the Braves has been admittedly vague thus far, but it's incredibly likely that they've at least approached him and tried to gauge interest. E-Rod, like Cease, would probably fall into the three spot in Atlanta's rotation behind Spencer Strider and Max Fried, though he could have some competition for that slot with Bryce Elder.
Rodriguez is less of a strikeout thrower than Strider, Fried, or Cease, but his career walk rate through nine is at a much more reassuring 3.08 than Cease's 4.02. He also had his best ERA year, at 3.30, and although he hasn't pitched over 180 innings since 2019, he still pitched over 150 for the Tigers this year.
With starting pitchers being taken off the board little by little everyday, the stock of those remaining is slowly climbing. Rodriguez is valued at a bit over $20 million a year, with most predictions expecting him to land a three or four year deal. The Braves would probably be hesitant to give anyone a $60-80 million deal, but if it's true that they're increasing payroll and have their sights set on a frontline pitcher who can give them a lot of innings if he stays healthy, they might want to consider stepping out of their comfort zone for E-Rod.
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