The Braves anticipate increasing their player payroll, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos told reporters (including David O’Brien of the Athletic).
Chairman Terry McGuirk echoed those sentiments, telling Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that “that ‘glideslope’ that we’re on, we will stay on” in reference to the organization raising payroll in three straight seasons.
Atlanta opened the 2023 campaign with a player payroll in the $203M range, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Their luxury tax figure — which is based on the combined average annual values of a team’s deals — was well higher, estimated around $250M.
The Braves clearly surpassed the $233M base tax threshold and seem likely to do so again next year, when the first threshold rises to $237M.
The Braves have around $165M in guaranteed salaries for next season. Their arbitration class should add between $25M and $30M. That could put them within $15M-20M of last year’s season-opening mark before making further additions. Roster Resource projects their CBT number a hair below $237M.
Even with some kind of uptick in spending, it seems unlikely the Braves would play near the top of the free agent market. That hasn’t been Anthopoulos’ preferred course of action anyhow. Atlanta has been far more aggressive on the trade and extension fronts than in adding free agents from other clubs.
With some measure of flexibility, however, they could be more active than in recent offseasons in sifting through the middle tier. Starting pitching could be the biggest priority.
Atlanta has Spencer Strider, Max Fried and Charlie Morton to occupy the top three spots. The final two positions are less settled. Bryce Elder likely has the inside track on the No. 4 job but struggled down the stretch after an All-Star first half. Kyle Wright will miss the entire season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
AJ Smith-Shawver and prospect Hurston Waldrep are high-upside options who could compete for an early-season job. Anthopoulos said today that Huascar Ynoa is expected to be a full go for spring training after missing last season to Tommy John rehab (via Toscano).
Jared Shuster, Dylan Dodd and Michael Soroka are depth options — although Soroka could be non-tendered — but it’d behoove the Braves to add another source of innings. Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Jack Flaherty are speculative free agent possibilities.
The lineup is a lot more established. Left field is the lone vacancy after the team declined its option on Eddie Rosario.
While a free agent pursuit of someone like Lourdes Gurriel Jr. or old friend Joc Pederson could be on the table, the Braves have a potential internal upside play. Atlanta has kept Vaughn Grissom in the middle infield, hoping the reps will allow his glove to catch up to his advanced bat.
With Ozzie Albies and Orlando Arcia on the roster, there may not be a path to at-bats for Grissom on the infield.
Anthopoulos told reporters that the organization has given thought to getting Grissom experience in left field. If they put that into action during spring training, it’d give the right-handed hitter a clearer path to MLB work. Grissom spent most of this year in Triple-A, hitting .330/.419/.501 as a 22-year-old.
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