3 most underpaid players on the Atlanta Braves roster for 2024 season

One of the reasons why the Atlanta Braves are going to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come is how brilliantly their general manager Alex Anthopoulos puts together contracts. It is as methodical and calculated as it is divisive and controversial. He will extend players, but it is usually well before a player has matured as a professional. He is always looking to get a deal on the books before any other executive has even had a chance to identify the talent.

Thus, we have seen may of the Braves' best homegrown players end up signing very team-friendly deals. The most recent examples of this include third baseman Austin Riley, centerfielder Michael Harris II and starting pitcher Spencer Strider. While Riley and Harris's bigger numbers show up on the books in 2023, Strider is only going to make $1 million next year before his big bump in pay kicks in.

So what we are going to do here is take a look at a few key contributors that will play a huge part in the Braves' overall success in 2024 that are grossly underpaid. While free agency could be approaching, there is not a big number coming their way in the future on the Braves' books. Some of them are under team control longer than others, while others will be able to test free agency soon...

Here are three Braves players you would be surprised to see how little they are making this season.

3. A.J. Minter is slated to make $6.22 million in final year of arbitration

A.J. Minter has spent his entire professional career in the Braves organization since being drafted out of Texas A&M in 2015. He has been a tremendously important piece in the Atlanta bullpen for at least half a decade now. While he does have some ebb and flow to his game, when he is on, Minter is one of the hardest southpaws to hit in the game when it comes to middle relievers. He is not making a ton...

Minter is in the final year of arbitration with the Braves where he is slated to make $6.22 million for 2024. He is well past five years of big-league service, all with Atlanta. Although this will be his age-30 season out of Texas A&M for the Braves, Minter is still very much in his prime as a left-handed relief pitcher. He will command way more than that on the open market next offseason. Will he be retained?

At this point, I have no earthly idea. He and left-handed starter Max Fried are arguably the two biggest names on the Braves hitting free agency after this upcoming season. Fried has had worse injury luck than Minter, so that could knock his price down just a bit. Then again, both pitchers are the type of players teams aspiring to contend for a World Series would love to have on their rosters. It's a toss-up.

To me, I feel that Minter is way more likely to return to the Braves in 2025 than Fried by a wide margin.