What's Alex Anthopoulos up to? Braves strangely left out of Willy Adames mix

The Atlanta Braves responded to their early postseason exit by making several offseason moves. It was abundantly clear that their goal with the decisions that they made was to open up as much money as possible. The Braves have cleared upwards of $30 million by trading Jorge Soler, rejecting club options for Travis d'Arnaud and Luke Jackson, and reworking the Aaron Bummer and Reynaldo Lopez contracts.

Could the Braves be clearing money just for the sake of clearing money? Potentially, but the Braves have also opened the door to them making a major offseason move or two. Bringing Max Fried back would be an obvious one, but the Braves also have a gaping hole at shortstop. Orlando Arcia had a miserable offensive season in 2024 and would fit a whole lot better in a utility role.

With that in mind, it felt like a certainty that the Braves were going to be in on the best free agent shortstop available, Willy Adames. Well, not only is Jeff Passan of ESPN ($) not reporting that the Braves are favored to land him, they aren't even part of the mix.

"Willy Adames, shortstop: The 29-year-old is coming off a 32-homer season with the Milwaukee Brewers and has hit the second-most home runs in the past six seasons among shortstops, behind only Lindor. Though he makes all kinds of sense for the San Francisco Giants, Adames' willingness to play third base ties him to the Mets and Yankees, too. The Dodgers will be in the mix as well. Adames should cash in, though any reports of contracts already offered are incorrect."

Adames is being linked to teams in need of shortstops like the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. He's even being linked to teams in need of third basemen like the New York Mets and New York Yankees. He isn't being linked to a Braves team that seemingly has money to spend and a gaping hole at shortstop, though. That seems odd, and raises one big question. What exactly is Alex Anthopoulos up to?

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What are Braves up to if they're not involved in Willy Adames sweepstakes?

Let's make one thing clear. The Braves not being linked to Adames by Passan does not mean that they're not interested. Anthopoulos is known for flying under the radar and making moves when least expected. It wouldn't be surprising in the slightest to see a Braves press release get tweeted in the coming days saying that they have Adames signed to a long-term deal with the shortstop donating a portion of his salary to the Braves foundation. Still, the fact that they aren't in the mix, at least publicly, is definitely eye-opening.

If the Braves actually aren't interested in Adames, options are pretty limited. The easiest prediction to make would be they're intent on running things back with Arcia as the starting shortstop. His glove is rock solid, but his bat, especially with runners in scoring position, left a whole lot to be desired this past season. For the sake of Braves fans, hopefully, Anthopoulos has something up his sleeve.

On the open market, that could mean a Ha-seong Kim pursuit. Kim is a similar defensive-first player to Arcia, but provides more with the bat and more speed as well. He'd be a perfect fit at the bottom of what should be one of the deepest lineups in the National League if they can stay healthy. The Braves could pursue lower-end options like Jose Iglesias and Paul DeJong too, but those players feel less likely.

Where Anthopoulos usually shines is through trades. Could there be a Bo Bichette trade in the works? Possibly, but Ross Atkins was pretty clear that he's not going anywhere. Could they trade for a guy like Nico Hoerner and use him at shortstop? The trade market doesn't appear to be flush with shortstops, but it wouldn't be surprising at all to see Anthopoulos pull off a deal for a shortstop nobody even knew was available.

It'd be strange to see the Braves not be in on Adames at all, considering their hole at shortstop, but we've seen Anthopoulos make surprising moves that work out better than anyone could've ever expected to give him the benefit of the doubt. While it's hard to say what he's up to, he's absolutely up to something.