Overall, the Atlanta Braves have had themselves a fine offseason. While they mostly steered clear of the free agent market other than bringing back some bullpen arms and signing Reynaldo Lopez, the Braves did make some hay in the trade market. Assuming Jarred Kelenic can even approach his lofty ceiling, the Braves may have added a big piece of their future in the outfield. The trade for Chris Sale came out of nowhere, but addressed Atlanta's biggest need in the rotation.
Other teams certainly made some sexier moves with some more big ones still to come and the Dodgers obviously went wild this offseason, but the Braves did what they had to do: keep the core of this great roster around and make it better (hopefully).
It is still early to start taking a victory lap because we have yet to see the Braves take the field, but outside observers seem to agree that Atlanta did quite well. Fox Sports recently decided to put together their team rankings for the offseason and the Braves were apparently among their biggest winners this offseason.
Fox Sports loves the Braves' moves this offseason
Coming in at second overall with a firm "A" grade from Fox, the Braves clearly hit the right notes for them this offseason. They would praise their work in bulking up the bullpen in particular as well as the Kelenic trade. They also made multiple mentions of the Braves' playoff exits by the hands of the Phillies which was decidedly less nice.
The Dodgers, to the surprise of no one, got the top spot in their rankings and they are obviously going to be a problem in the National League once again in 2024. Around the division, however, the Braves appear to have done the best as no other NL East team was in Fox's top 10 with the Phillies being the next closest at #12. For what it is worth, the Marlins came in second to last as they still refuse to spend any money and take advantage of the young talent that they have.
Just because the Braves ranked highly here doesn't mean that their moves will end well. Kelenic has struggled in the big leagues thus far and Chris Sale is coming off multiple injuries and is no longer a young man. However, it does seem as though the Braves made some smartly placed bets going into 2024.