The Braves are staring at a winter full of decisions, and a handful of them already feel pretty settled. Atlanta’s 2026 season is over, the offseason questions are piling up, and the first order of business is trimming away the names that almost certainly won’t be part of the 2027 picture.
Some of these calls are clean. Others are a little more complicated. But when you sort through the free agents, the option cases, the arbitration arms, and the players who simply didn’t do enough, a clear list starts to form.
Jurickson Profar sits near the top of it. After a second PED suspension, there’s little reason to expect the Braves to bring him back in any meaningful way. The club may try to move him and get out from under part of the contract, but other teams know they can probably just wait for his release if they want to take the gamble at a lower price.
Ha-Seong Kim is another easy one. He managed only a brutal -0.8 rWAR in 51 games, and even though Atlanta badly needs help at shortstop, Kim wasn’t the answer. He heads into free agency needing a chance to reset after what should be a normal offseason, and that opportunity almost certainly won’t come in Atlanta.
Dominic Smith’s case is less dramatic, but the outcome looks the same. He was on the playoff roster, which already says something about the state of the Braves’ depth, but he had not really earned a roster spot since May.
The clubhouse value is there, yet the bat isn’t, and neither is the defense. At this point, there just isn’t much of a case for keeping him.
Kyle Farmer is in a similar lane. If he wasn’t good enough to make the postseason roster even when an emergency catcher was part of the equation, it’s hard to see a path for him on the 2027 club. A minor league deal could still make sense if Atlanta wants a veteran utility option at Triple-A, but the Braves can likely find better bench depth if they go shopping elsewhere.
Mauricio Dubon is trickier. He cooled off after his strong start, but his versatility mattered, especially while Kim was out.
There’s a real argument for bringing him back on a short deal to cover shortstop and the rest of the infield, particularly given the other short-term options available. Still, at 32, Dubon may be looking for more years and more guaranteed money, and that kind of offer probably comes from another team.
Rowdy Tellez feels like another departure waiting to happen. His profile is basically that of a left-handed power bat, and he was barely hanging on coming into 2026.
Smith at least gives you a little more defensive flexibility; Tellez does not. He might still earn a spring training invite somewhere because of the raw pop, but it probably won’t be in Atlanta.
Joe Jimenez could get a token look if the Braves decide to show some loyalty and offer him a one-year chance to prove he can come back. That would be a fair shot, considering he hasn’t pitched in the majors in two years and is trying to return from what looked like a career-ending knee injury. But the Braves can’t pencil in a bullpen role for him based on hope alone, so a split seems more likely.
Martin Perez did exactly what Atlanta needed from him in 2026: he took the ball and gave the club innings when the rotation got hit by injuries again. That alone made him valuable.
Even so, his back injury was a reminder that time is catching up, and his stuff isn’t overpowering enough to erase that concern. The Braves could still bring him to camp, but another team may be willing to pay more for the same innings.
Lane Thomas also looks headed out. Atlanta acquired him to help stabilize a rough left-field situation against lefties, but he didn’t really deliver and finished the regular season on the injured list. That’s a tough return on the move, and it makes a reunion hard to justify.
Then there’s Joey Wentz, the kind of name that can slip through the cracks because he missed the entire season with a torn ACL. He’s entering his second year of arbitration, which should keep the price reasonable in theory. But with the injury and his prior performance working against him, he stands out as a prime non-tender candidate.
In Other News...
Braves Season Ended With The Breakdown Fans Feared Most
For much of October, the Braves were chasing a version of themselves that looked closer to the club fans expected all season, but Game 4 against the Dodgers ended with the kind of unraveling that has lingered over too many recent postseason exits. Los Angeles beat Atlanta 4-1 to close out the NLDS, and the game tilted toward the Dodgers as they took advantage of defensive mistakes and came through with the kind of timely hits that separate a tense playoff night from a breakthrough.
Michael Harris II provided the lone notable spark on offense, but it was never enough to force the Dodgers into real trouble. Instead, Atlanta watched a familiar script play out, with the offense unable to build on small openings and the margin for error shrinking until it disappeared. The Dodgers move on to the NLCS, while the Braves are left with another October that ended the way their fans feared most. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Face A Bigger Question Than Another Early Playoff Exit
The Braves October ended the same way too many recent runs have, with another loss to the Dodgers and another quick exit from the postseason. This one stings differently, though, because Atlanta did take a real step forward under first-year manager Walt Weiss, winning the National League East and piling up 94 regular-season wins after a down year the season before.
Still, the bigger question hanging over the winter is not just why the Braves could not get past Los Angeles again. It is whether the core that has driven this era can keep doing it at the level Atlanta needs, with concerns swirling around the recent performance trends of Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acua Jr. and Sean Murphy. There is enough young talent in the pipeline to keep hope alive, but the Braves have reached the point where promise has to translate into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Mahle Just Made The Braves' Offseason Much More Interesting
Tyler Mahles brief run with Atlanta in the 2026 NLDS against the Dodgers gave the Braves another arm they could trust in October, and it also gave the front office something to think about once the offseason arrived. Mahle said he enjoyed his time with the club and made clear he would be open to coming back if the chance comes together, which is exactly the kind of comment a team pays attention to after a postseason series.
The challenge for Atlanta is that this one may not be simple to line up quickly. Mahle is expected to draw interest from multiple teams in a shallow free-agent market, and while there is obvious mutual interest in keeping the door open, no agreement is in place yet. For a Braves club always trying to balance upside, timing and cost on the pitching side, that leaves Mahle as one of the more intriguing names to watch this winter. [Read more 🡒]