The Braves’ shortstop market is thin enough that even the best-looking name comes with a catch.
Atlanta has been living with a hole there since Dansby Swanson left in free agency, and it’s only become more obvious with Mauricio Dubon set to test the open market. That leaves the Braves hunting in a class that barely exists, and the choices get ugly fast.
JP Crawford is the first name that comes up, but even that feels like a stretch. He was a mess defensively at shortstop last season and looks overdue for a move off the position as he nears his mid-30s.
The bat didn’t help his case either, with a .221 average and a .687 OPS in one of his worst offensive seasons. A few years ago, this would have been a more interesting conversation.
Now, it’s hard to picture the Braves viewing him as a realistic answer to start there.
The rest of the group isn’t much better. The free-agent pool at shortstop is only about ten players deep, and it mostly reads like a reunion tour of former Braves who have already passed through Atlanta over the last three years. There’s no real case to make for bringing those names back, so the list starts and ends with the one obvious fit.
Dubon is the only free agent the Braves should seriously want to keep. He handled shortstop well defensively this past season and brought enough offense to serve as a bridge until one of Atlanta’s prospects is ready. On paper, he makes the most sense by a wide margin.
The problem is that he won’t be alone. Any team needing a shortstop is going to have Dubon circled, and with such a weak class around him, his camp has a chance to do very well this winter. That could leave the Braves facing the same old problem at the position: scrambling for answers and hoping one finally works.
In Other News...
Braves Face Two Roster Decisions They Cant Afford To Miss
Chris Sale gave the Braves exactly the kind of season they hoped for in 2024, and that matters because the pitching picture does not get any simpler from here. The rotation needs more depth heading toward 2027, while the rest of the staff still has to account for health concerns that can reshape a plan in a hurry. For a team trying to stay ahead of the curve, those are the kinds of roster questions that cant be brushed aside until spring.
The bigger squeeze may come on the position-player side, where several spots have lagged behind and shortstop in particular stands out as an unresolved issue. Atlanta has to decide whether to lock in one look there or preserve the flexibility that has helped it cover ground elsewhere, and the choice carries real consequences for the rest of the roster construction. At the same time, the bullpen picture is not settled either, with one veteran reliever looming as a key decision in what could be a very expensive balancing act. [Read more 🡒]
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Albies postseason work only strengthened his case inside the organization, yet the front office could still end up facing a tougher call than expected. Trading him would require the Braves to balance roster fit and payroll concerns, and the timing makes the decision especially tricky as they look ahead to the next offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Fans Will Love The Pitcher Suddenly Tied To Atlanta
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It was the kind of tiny social-media moment Braves fans notice immediately, even if the baseball reality is much less dramatic. Williams remains under team control through 2029, so any serious path to Atlanta would be a long shot at best, but that has not stopped a bit of online chatter from making the rounds. [Read more 🡒]