As the offseason dragged on, Atlanta Braves fans became increasingly concerned with the team's lack of activity. Despite having purged their payroll immediately after the 2024 season ended, the Braves were idle for months while teams like the Dodgers and Yankees went wild adding new players left and right. There was even some thought that the Braves were aiming to stay under the luxury tax in 2025 instead of making any roster upgrades.
A lot of the those fears were quelled when Atlanta finally made their move in January when they signed Jurickson Profar. While not a massive contract compared to some of the other deals we saw this offseason, Profar also wasn't cheap and the deal signaled that for the right player at the right price, the Braves were still willing to push their chips in despite standing pat for most of the offseason.
Still, there are those that think the Braves could have and should have done more. The rotation could have used another reliable arm and Alex Anthopoulos admitted recently that the team failed to address the vacancy in the bullpen left by Joe Jimenez's injury. However, any shortcomings in the Braves' roster building won't seem to be resource-related as Braves chairman Terry McGuirk went on the record recently to say that Atlanta still has some "dry powder" in terms of payroll left to make moves with.
Terry McGuirk makes it clear that the Braves still have money to spend if they need to in 2025
McGuirk's candid comments were a welcome reprieve from the veil of secrecy that Anthopoulos' front office has employed for years now. Not only did McGuirk say that the Braves have money left to make moves either before or during the 2025 season, but that he expects the Braves to maintain a top 10 payroll for the foreseeable future.
If the Braves are not being constrained financially, then why did they have a largely quiet offseason outside of signing Profar and multiple notable free agent departures? The honest answer is that Atlanta can afford to be picky given the strength and depth of their roster. Adding Willy Adames was on their radar, but his asking price ended up exceeding the Braves' comfort level. The Braves tried to trade for Garrett Crochet and sign Jeff Hoffman, but Boston beat Atlanta's offer for Crochet and Hoffman's deal fell through due to his physical.
The Braves did try to make some impact moves this offseason, but it seems like the bandwidth of players they were considering was very small and most of those pursuits just didn't work out. Fortunately, it does seem like Atlanta is still more than willing to pull the trigger on the right deal and that could make for a really fun 2025 trade deadline.