Braves news: Marcell Ozuna extension?, Chipper Jones loyalty, pitching depth tested

It's safe to say that anxiety is high among Atlanta Braves fans right now. A second straight postseason flameout has given way to an awfully quiet offseason, in which Alex Anthopoulos said all the right things about spending money and being aggressive ... only to watch Max Fried leave for the New York Yankees and sit idly by while potential outfield and pitching targets fly off the board.

Of course, plenty of talent still remains available, and Anthopoulos may well yet make something out of this winter. Let's take a lap around the latest news and rumors.

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Braves news: Will Atlanta consider extension for Marcell Ozuna?

As the Braves try to fill holes in the outfield, at shortstop and on their pitching staff, they also have to keep an eye on next season, in which a couple of notable names are set to hit free agency. The most important is Ozuna, fresh off a second straight great season at the plate as Atlanta's primary DH. Picking up the 34-year-old's option for 2025 was an easy decision to begin the offseason, but it raises a question along with it: Will the team try to hammer out an extention ahead of Opening Day, or will it run the risk of letting one of its biggest bats walk next winter?

Given Ozuna's age and lack of defensive or baserunning value, it's likely that he wouldn't be looking at more than a two- or three-year deal at a reasonable-enough AAV. And given his success in Atlanta, both player and team have reason to want to keep this partnership going. Then again, Ozuna probably doesn't have many more chances to cash in, and if he believes in his ability to push 40 homers for a third straight season, he might get a bigger payday by waiting it out.

Braves news: Chipper Jones was faithful to Atlanta til the end

It's impossible to picture Chipper Jones in a uniform other than Atlanta's, the team that drafted him first overall in 1990 and for whom he played the entirety of his 19-year, Hall of Fame career. But that Braves nightmare was closer to being realized than you might think: On Tuesday's episode of Foul Territory, co-host Erik Kratz asked Jones if there were any teams other than Atlanta that he ever wondered about playing for.

In response, Chipper dropped quite a bomb, revealing that former Los Angeles Dodgers president Stan Kasten reached out to him ahead of his final season about the possibility of bringing him to L.A. According to Jones, Kasten offered the third baseman the chance to play as often or as little as he wanted, while serving as a veteran clubhouse presence for an up-and-coming Dodgers team.

Fortunately for Braves fans everywhere, Jones didn't take long to mull it over. And his reasoning was simple: "If I wear any other uniform other than a Braves uniform, they will burn my house down in Atlanta."

The Dodgers finished 86-76 that season, second in the NL West, and missed out on the postseason. Atlanta, meanwhile, won 94 games but lost at home to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Wild Card game thanks in large part to the infield fly heard 'round the world. But hey, at least Braves fans didn't have the added psychic damage of seeing Jones in another uniform before he retired.

Braves news: Atlanta adds more relief depth in wake of Jimenez injury

Add another relief pitcher to the pile of those who will be trying to earn a job and replace the injured Joe Jimenez next season, as Atlanta has reportedly signed former Washington Nationals righty Jordan Weems to a Minor League deal. The 32-year-old Weems has spent five seasons in the Majors, the last three of which have come in D.C., where he's posted a 5.03 ERA over 136 innings of work. His best season came back in 2023, with a 3.62 ERA and a career-best strikeout rate, but he struggled in both 2022 and 2024 before being waived back in August.

Weems joins Enoli Paredes and Ray Kerr as invitees to Spring Training in the wake of Jimenez's injury, as Atlanta continues to look to build bullpen and outfield depth on an unnecessarily tight budget. Alex Anthopoulos has insisted that the team is willing to go into the luxury tax for a third straight year, but between this and the Bryan De La Cruz signing earlier in the week, it sure seems like they'll be sitting out the top end of the free-agent market.