The Braves have work to do this offseason, and the need at the top of the rotation is impossible to ignore.
That’s why Jeff Passan’s take on Atlanta’s ideal free-agent fit lands so cleanly: right-hander Sonny Gray. In Passan’s view, Gray checks the exact boxes the Braves tend to chase, especially with the market for starting pitching standing out in a free-agent class that is otherwise pretty thin.
“The Braves need impact starting pitching. Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes are fine at the back end of a rotation, and Didier Fuentes will be an impact starter long term but could find himself innings-limited in 2027.
But in a division primed to be loaded with good arms, Atlanta needs to keep up. That might mean right-hander Tyler Mahle, who served as a worthy complement to ace Chris Sale down the stretch.
But this isn’t about the moves the Braves are willing to make. It’s about what would be ideal.
And in this case, as good as Mahle was, there’s another righty whose fastball sits in the low 90s and still finds ways to keep runs off the board. Sign right-handed starter Sonny Gray,” Passan writes.
Gray has been tied to the Braves for years, whether the conversation has been trade rumors or free agency. That makes sense given the profile. He’s entering his 15th MLB season, and he just turned in one of the strongest years of his career with a 2.72 ERA for the Boston Red Sox.
The strikeouts dipped a bit, which is worth watching as he gets older, but run prevention has been his calling card for a long time. There’s also the Nashville angle: Gray owns a home there, not far from Atlanta, and plenty have wondered if he’d like the chance to pitch for the Braves.
The money lines up, too. Most projections have Gray landing a two-year deal worth about $50 million, a range that fits with what the Braves have paid Charlie Morton and Chris Sale late in their careers.
Atlanta could always chase a bigger swing, maybe someone like Trevor Rogers, who is younger and brings more upside. But with Alex Anthopoulos typically hesitant to hand out long-term contracts to starting pitchers, Gray looks like the more realistic target. After all the speculation, this could finally be the winter when the fit turns into a deal.
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For Atlanta, the appeal is obvious because shortstop remains a clear need and Seager would instantly change the look of the infield. The problem is figuring out whether a deal of that size is even realistic, especially when the Braves would have to weigh premium talent against what it would take to pry him loose. The offseason plan at shortstop is still very much unsettled, and this latest twist only adds another difficult choice to a search that was already going to shape the roster. [Read more 🡒]