The Braves are heading into an offseason where money will matter as much as roster needs, and that puts a few pricey names in the spotlight. With the looming lockout clouding the exact budget, Atlanta is still expected to have somewhere in the range of $35-45 million to work with if last year is the template.
That sounds useful until you remember how many holes need filling. So if Alex Anthopoulos wants room to operate, shedding salary is going to be part of the equation.
There’s no shortage of contracts the Braves could try to move. The real issue is finding another club willing to take on money that hasn’t delivered enough value. Still, a few names stand out as possible trade chips this winter.
Spencer Strider sits near the top of that list, at least in theory. He’s tied to two guaranteed years worth $49 million, with a club option after that for another $22 million and a $5 million buyout.
Anthopoulos has already said the Braves can’t bank on Strider going forward, which says plenty about how uncertain his place is. He hasn’t stayed healthy in years, and when he has been on the mound, the production hasn’t matched the contract.
Atlanta may ultimately have to absorb the pain and hope something clicks later. But if the Braves were willing to cover about half the salary, a team desperate for pitching could probably be talked into taking a shot.
The catch is obvious: that only works if Strider’s current injury doesn’t spill into all of next season too.
Sean Murphy is another name worth watching, though his situation is a little different. He has two guaranteed seasons left at $15 million per year, plus a club option in 2029 for another $15 million.
Atlanta may not be eager to move him at all, especially with the organization’s love for piling up starting-caliber catchers. Murphy is also heading into an offseason at 100%, which matters.
There’s a real case that the next two years could look much better than the last stretch, and $15 million annually isn’t exactly a crushing number. At the same time, that same profile makes him movable.
Good catchers are hard to come by, and Murphy still offers plenty behind the plate along with real offensive upside. If the Braves decide to shop him, finding a taker should not be the hard part.
Reynaldo Lopez also looks like a candidate to be moved. His remaining commitment is just one year and $8 million, which is the kind of number that usually travels.
His first season in Atlanta started brilliantly, with an All-Star nod and a 1.99 ERA, but fatigue set in, then a shoulder injury wiped out nearly everything the next year, limiting him to a single start. This season he was never the same, finishing with a 4.54 ERA over 79.1 innings.
There doesn’t seem to be much of a role for him in Atlanta heading toward 2027, so the Braves could use that money more effectively somewhere else if another team wants a low-risk flier.
And then there’s Austin Riley, the name everybody was always going to bring up. He’s owed $132 million over six years, or $22 million per season, and that makes him the biggest albatross on the books right now.
The concern is obvious: he just had a career-worst season and was a below-average player at his position, with the yearly decline becoming harder to ignore. But a trade this offseason still feels far-fetched.
Teams will call, sure, but the offers are likely to be so light that the Braves would be better off betting on a rebound after a healthy winter. Last offseason, people wanted Michael Harris II moved for almost nothing, and he ended up becoming Atlanta’s best player this year.
That’s part of why Riley’s situation doesn’t feel like one the Braves are eager to force. A bounce-back remains on the table, and accepting a lowball offer would be a tough sell.
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One of the biggest calls sits at shortstop, where Atlanta has to decide whether Mauricio Dubn is best used as an everyday option or kept in his familiar utility lane. The late-inning side of the roster brings its own choice, too, with Raisel Iglesias now part of a discussion that is as much about timing and commitment as it is about performance. For a team trying to stay ahead of the National League pack, neither decision feels like one it can afford to get wrong. [Read more 🡒]
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Williams liking that comment was the kind of small digital moment that can fuel a fan base, even if the baseball reality is far less dramatic. He is under team control through 2029, which makes any near-term move to Atlanta highly unlikely, but it was still an easy enough link for Braves supporters to latch onto while the offseason chatter begins to take shape. [Read more 🡒]