Are the Atlanta Braves and Liberty Media even trying to win?

A lot has been made about the Braves’ lack of spending this year, sparking some fans to wonder, “Are the Braves and Liberty Media even trying to win?”

The club got off to a horrid start, beginning 0-7, but they’ve slowly dug themselves out of that hole, actually even becoming the second-fastest team to reach .500 after a start like that.

Still, there’s been a drop in payroll (nearly $240 million last year compared to $212 million this season), despite Alex Anthopoulos saying all offseason that payroll would increase. Leading to fans blaming Liberty Media, even if that’s not where the finger should be pointed.

“I understand that because we are below, the inclination is to say, ‘Well, there’s got to be a mandate or something.’ There isn’t. We went over two years in a row because it made sense to do it. If the right deal presents itself, it’s not even a discussion, it’s done. It just has to be the right player,” Anthopoulos said in an interview on 680 The Fan.

That still isn’t good enough for some fans, though. Talk is cheap, but what’s not cheap is the Braves’ CBT payroll over the last three years. In fact, to answer the overarching question of “Are the Braves and Liberty Media even trying to win?” Yes, yes, they are trying.

Here’s a graph from The Athletic that shows Atlanta is among the league’s biggest spenders, and they’ve remained one of the sport’s best teams.

Average year-end Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) payroll and aggregate regular season winning percentage for each MLB team, 2022-25 seasons