Our long nightmare is over as the Dodgers emerged victorious over the Blue Jays in the World Series after a thrilling Game 7 win that involved extra innings. Of course, it would have been better if LA hadn't won as they don't deserve happiness, but it does mean that the offseason has officially arrived and the Atlanta Braves can finally get down to business.
Obviously the next big decision that the Braves have to make is regarding who will be their manager in 2026. With the World Series over, we'll find out very soon if Danny Lehmann is indeed their guy or if there are other candidates in play. With the offseason coming up fast, Atlanta isn't likely to waste too much more time now as having a manager in place is a key component when trying to attract free agents.
However, the search for a new manager is not the only important decision that faces the Braves now that the World Series is over as there are a number of offseason dates/deadlines where the clock has now officially started.
Braves have just five days now to make some big choices after the end of the World Series
While a number of offseason tentpole events have fixed dates, many of them are tied specifically to when the World Series ends. Yes, it is a little silly that all but two teams in MLB had to sit around and wait for LA and Toronto to battle things out, but there also isn't another great way to do it (including fixed dates) that wouldn't have it's own set of annoyances.
One thing that can now immediately happen is trades. Upon the completion of the World Series, the trade market is officially open and while we probably won't see a bunch of swaps right away, it is a tool in teams' toolboxes now as they try to manage roster space and try to work around the other deadlines out there.
Right now, there are three big offseason events that will begin/end five days after the end of the World Series. Free agency is technically officially here, but players cannot sign with new teams until five days have passed which gives their current teams a bit of an exclusive negotiating window. Options also have to be decided within five days as well which is obviously important to the Braves. While most of the team's club options are very straight-forward decisions, Ha-Seong Kim's player option is more uncertain and his decision could dictate a lot of Atlanta's plans going forward this offseason.
The last one is qualifying offers as teams have to decided within five days as to whether or not to extend QOs to qualified free agents. While the Braves have a couple of notable free agents in Marcell Ozuna and Raisel Iglesias, but neither are realistic candidates for the qualifying offer as paying either player over $22 million next season seems like a bad idea. However, getting confirmation on which free agents get offered and reject QOs will likely to help the Braves figure out who to target this offseason given the added cost of signing players with qualifying offers attached.