Although the MLB offseason has started, things are moving slowly. However, as Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said, things should pick up speed quickly as the Winter Meetings draw near. Let’s play a quick game of Buy or Sell about Braves trade and free agency rumors in the run-up to the Winter Meetings.
The executive stated, “The Sox would prefer to have him in the NL.” “I wouldn’t exclude other large-market clubs.” One consideration is where Garrett would like to sign an extension, and Atlanta seems to be the most desirable long-term destination for him.
In baseball, the Braves have come to represent the trade-and-sign strategy. Since the team won the World Series, Anthopoulos has extended contracts with Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, Chris Sale, Joe Jimenez, and Pierce Johnson.
Because he believes the value is higher on the trade market than in free agency, AA would rather go big game hunting there. However, it only works if the player intends to stay in Atlanta for the long haul. Crochet is happy to sign a contract extension, fortunately.
Top free agent Willy Adames would be the most obvious upgrade, and Orlando Arcia would never start another game in Atlanta if supporters had their way. The Brewers shortstop is the only healthy starting caliber shortstop available in free agency, thus he is entering the market at the ideal moment (for him).
Adames is willing to switch from shortstop to third base in order to increase competition, and every team that needs a shortstop will be in the running. Given the Braves’ other weaknesses (bullpen, outfield, and rotation), strengthening the position feels more like a luxury, and there won’t be a shortage of bidders.
The rotation has to be strengthened by the Braves. Walker Buehler fits a lot of criteria, and Alex Anthopoulos has a type.
Once a top starter in this league, the former Dodgers ace was frequently included in discussions about Cy Young. Buehler pitched 564 innings from 2018 to 2021 with a 2.82 ERA, 27.7% strikeout rate, and 6.1% walk rate.
But it’s been years since we’ve seen that Buehler. He pitched 75.1 innings with a 5.38 ERA and career-worst strikeout and walk rates of 18.6% and 8.1%, respectively, after missing the whole 2023 season.
For the Braves, this would be a high-reward free agent signing. Although Buehler is unlikely to sign a one-year contract worth more than $20 million, he might have a Cy Young-caliber campaign. He is only thirty years old, therefore he has every reason to perform well in 2025 in order to persuade a team to offer him a rich, long-term contract the following offseason.
“Whether it’s the Cubs, Orioles, Braves, or others, teams think his stuff plays like a frontline starter, and Pivetta is looking at one of the biggest deals of the winter for a starter.”
Every season since then, injuries have plagued the Braves rotation. Nor should we expect that to change. Chris Sale fought ailments for the majority of the four seasons before, but he finished the 2024 season in good health. Spencer Strider recently had a serious elbow injury. Since being selected in the draft a few years ago, Spencer Schwellenbach has never threw a complete season’s worth of innings, and Reynaldo Lopez struggled with exhaustion.
Pivetta has pitched at least 142 innings in each of the previous four seasons since being traded from the Phillies to Boston in 2020. Pivetta most recently pitched 26 starts for Boston last season with an ERA of 4.14. Although that isn’t particularly exciting, his anticipated ERA of 3.59 is significantly lower. Both his 80th percentile walk rate and 88th percentile strikeout rate are strong points. The veteran established a career-low walk-per-nine (2.2) and averaged 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings in 2023 and 10.6 in 2024.