Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos is notorious for making team-friendly deals with superstars. It also feels like he has made moves in the past that seemed like a head-scratcher at the time but later proved to be genius.
Obviously, the most memorable acquisitions Anthopoulos was able to pull off that paid dividends was the slew of additions he made at the 2021 trade deadline that led to a Braves World Series title. Since then, Anthopoulos has not been quite as active and patience is starting to wear thin among the fanbase.
Anthopoulos’ most recent plan for the 2025 season will most certainly ruffle the feathers of fans.
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Alex Anthopoulos plans to wait until trade deadline to make additions to Braves
This winter, the Atlanta Braves have certainly experienced more losses than anything. Starting pitchers Max Fried and Charlie Morton signed elsewhere in free agency. Brain Snitker’s most trusted reliever, AJ Minter, joined Atlanta’s division rival, the New York Mets.
The only significant addition the Braves have made this offseason was acquiring Jurickson Profar off the free agent market. While this will undoubtedly improve the offense, pitching still needs to be addressed.
It is not too late to sign free agents and there are still a few available that would make a lot of sense for the Braves to sign at a reasonable price. However, Anthopoulos seems to be viewing the Braves’ status through the lens of a businessman only.
Despite claiming earlier this offseason that the Braves were willing to go over the luxury tax to improve the team, Anthopoulos is now trying to avoid going over that threshold for the third year in a row. Instead of facing higher tax rate implications, Anthopoulos now appears to have decided that he would rather wait until the trade deadline to address needs that are still necessary at that point.
While Atlanta shouldn’t be spending irresponsibly, counting on arms like Ian Anderson and Grant Holmes to keep the Braves at the top of the NL East standings feels very risky. If the Braves, in fact, decide to wait to make any more major moves, they could find themselves in a hole that is tough to climb out of.