The Atlanta Braves have made it abundantly clear all offseason that they would like to add more rotation depth if they found the right deal for the right player. They were unable to land Tatsuya Imai and now that the Mets stole Freddy Peralta, there doesn't seem to be an arm available that would be an exciting addition unless the Braves are willing to give up a draft pick (and a good chunk of money) for Framber Valdez or Zac Gallen. However, one name that has popped up recently that could (unfortunately) have some legs is Justin Verlander.
Now, there is no reporting out there that a deal between the Braves and Verlander is close, However, it does feel like a very Alex Anthopoulos move to make. Verlander will almost certainly have to accept a one-year deal at this stage of his career and Anthopoulos loves to give one-year deals to aging veterans who he thinks can help in the Braves' clubhouse.
The problem is that his track record with such deals is pretty sketchy and could prove to be a costly mistake.
Justin Verlander was a great pitcher, but the Braves don't need him and the risk that would come with him
Obviously Verlander was a great pitcher and honestly, that he put up a 3.85 ERA with the Giants last season is pretty crazy. However, the fact remains that the guy is going to play the entire 2026 season as a 43 year-old with declining stuff and some relatively recent injury issues. For a Braves team that just saw basically their entire rotation get hurt last year, how smart is it really to bring in a guy that has one foot in a retirement home?
The other issue is that while Anthopoulos may prefer the sort of short-term, high-ish AAV deals that Verlander will require, the Braves have been very hit and miss with them. Charlie Morton is an example where it felt like Atlanta kept getting away with something when he survived each year, but many thought that the Braves held on to him for too long. Signing Dallas Keuchel was a mixed bag and indirectly led to a truly painful playoff loss. Hell, the Braves barely saw Cole Hamels play at all before his career ended almost immediately after getting his deal
It has to be tempting to try and give a reasonable one-year deal to a formerly great player in the hope that they will be able to rewind the clock one last time. After all, when you know a guy has done something before, it is hard not to think that they could do it again. Verlander could very well be good next season and hopefully he is, but the Braves just can't afford to risk it.