LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- With the Winter Meetings beginning on Monday, Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos updated his offseason thoughts on a Zoom session with some Atlanta media members on Sunday night.
Here are some of Anthopoulos’ most interesting thoughts:
Is acquiring a starting pitcher still a priority?
Like many of his peers, Anthopoulos has experienced many offseasons that have been soured by a discouraging health update. This winter has been far different for him. Reynaldo López has made regular progress following arthroscopic shoulder surgery and Spencer Schwellenbach’s previously-fractured right elbow hasn’t been a problem. The more surprising development has been Grant Holmes, who has created more hope that he will avoid undergoing surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
“He’s like, ‘my stuff’s better now than when I was totally healthy,’” Anthopoulos said, relaying what Holmes recently told him.
Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Schwellenbach and López are slated to fill the rotation’s first four spots. The fifth spot could go to Holmes, Bryce Elder, Joey Wentz or Hurston Waldrep. The first three candidates for that final rotation spot are out of options.
That’s decent depth, especially when you consider JR Ritchie, Didier Fuentes and possibly even AJ Smith-Shawver could all be deemed ready at some point in 2026. But coming off a season during which six different starting pitchers missed more than a month, it’s easy to understand why the Braves have perused the starting pitching market.
“We’ve gone down the road on some of those conversations,” Anthopoulos said. “Obviously, we haven't gotten anything done. But, we have had conversations. So, we're not ruling it out, On paper, [the current rotation] is a pretty good group. But we're trying to make sure that we are able to plan from a health standpoint with all these guys.”
Are the Braves willing to sign a player who rejected a qualifying offer?
Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen, Ranger Suárez and Michael King are among the top free-agent starting pitchers available. Each of them rejected a qualifying offer. This means if the Braves were to sign any of these four pitchers, they would lose the Draft pick they received in compensation for Drake Baldwin winning the National League Rookie of the Year. That’s the 26th overall pick and the millions of dollars in Draft pool money that accompanies that selection.
Would it make more sense to get a top starter by parting ways with prospect capital via a trade? The Braves would at least have a feel for the prospects they might have to move. It might be another month or two before they get a feel for who might be available with the 26th pick. And how the accompanying bonus pool money could impact the rest of the team’s Draft is part of the equation.
Anthopoulos said the internal discussions have been interesting.
“We've had discussions and explored players that [would mean] we'd lose that pick if we signed them,” Anthopoulos said. “We're not opposed to it, but again, it's all part of it. You're weighing it. It's about alternatives, trades, all that kind of stuff.
“Right player, right deal, we’re very open to it.”
Will the Braves target somebody who could be an everyday designated hitter?
The Braves like the idea of getting more of their regulars off their feet on a regular basis. They can do so by having many of them rotate in the DH role. Baldwin might not play every game, but he should see plenty of time in the DH role when he’s not catching next year.
“From a roster construction standpoint, where we sit today, we would prefer to leave it open and not have someone play 162 games as the DH,” Anthopoulos said.
Are there any Joe Jiménez updates?
Jiménez has struggled to recover from the knee surgery he underwent a few weeks after the 2024 season, though he had a cleanup procedure last month. Anthopoulos hopes the news becomes more encouraging. But for now, it seems like the priority is targeting a high-leverage reliever who could be Raisel Iglesias’ setup man.
“Right now, [Jiménez] isn’t somebody we’re counting on for the eighth inning,” Anthopoulos said.