MLB Rumors: Braves galaxy brain, Cubs Imanaga details, Luis Arráez trade buzz

MLB Rumors: Braves sign Charlie Culberson as relief pitcher

Trying to guess what the Atlanta Braves are going to do in a given offseason is one of the more difficult tasks in baseball. This is one of the most tight-lipped organizations in MLB, which is why blockbuster trades for Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, Jarred Kelenic and most recently Chris Sale seemingly came out of nowhere.

But even for Anthopoulos and a Braves organization that routinely surprises the baseball world, their latest move might take the cake.

It's honestly not much of a surprise that Atlanta is signing veteran Charlie Culberson to a minor-league contract for spring training, as Jon Heyman first reported. He's been a longtime fan-favorite with intimate familiarity with the organization. What is surprising, however, is that the Braves will be trying him out as a relief pitcher in spring training, a position switch for the longtime utility man.

Culberson is not necessarily completely without MLB pitching experience, having taken the mound for 7.1 innings of mop-up work in his career, including 3.1 innings with Atlanta from 2018-20. Over that span, he allowed just one earned run (1.23 ERA) with a 1.36 WHIP.

That, of course, isn't nearly enough of a sample size to make any legitimate assessment on how this position switch could play out for him. However, Heyman having a scout tell him that the 34-year-old "has a shot" is interesting. Moreover, even with his good ties to the Braves, one would have to believe that the club wouldn't make this move, even if it is a low-risk proposition, if they didn't think there was a chance it could work.

Without question, though, this will be something for Braves fans to monitor throughout the spring and a fun storyline to follow. And given how Anthopoulos' galaxy-brain type moves have worked before, don't be surprised if this somehow lands Atlanta another gem in the bullpen.