By: Matthew Weatherby
If you’re a baseball fan, you know that the offseason can be full of empty promises from ownership groups and front offices. The Braves, however, are currently delivering on promises that were made early in the offseason. Chairman Terry McGuirk said, “I’ve stated in the past that our goals are to be a top-five salary team. We’re currently a top 10 and haven’t been out of that in quite some time, out of that range. I think aiming back to the top five is a place that I want to get to.” So how have they backed that up?
Braves’ spending thus far
The three large acquisitions are as follows
Atlanta signed Mike Yastrzemski to a 2-year, 23 million dollar contract on December 10th, 2025
They also signed Robert Suárez to a 3-year, 45 million dollar contract on December 11th, 2025
Finally, Atlanta signed Ha-Seong Kim to a 1-year, 20 million dollar contract on December 15th, 2025
What does the spending mean?
Well, they delivered on spending promises made, which should mean trust within the fanbase. A fanbase that has been very loyal and supportive throughout the team’s time in Atlanta should continue to trust the front office. (This means more than a lot of people realize, if you do not believe me talk to a Red Sox fan right now)
The most important part was that Atlanta didn’t just go spend money for the sake of following through on the promise. Believe it or not, the Braves’ roster is actually in a very good position. So the moves needed to be strategic. The Braves’ bullpen lacked depth and a true set-up man last year. Robert Suárez should fill that role. When you combine that with bringing in James Karinchak on a minor league deal, they have added some much-needed depth to that bullpen.
The middle infield was a big problem last year. Fans might have rather had Andrelton Simmons come out of retirement before they had to watch another inning of Nick Allen at shortstop. So they signed Ha-Seong Kim back, who filled the hole at shortstop for the last 24 games last season. Now I’m not sure why he cost 20 million dollars, but the hole is believed to be filled at shortstop. To go along with that move, they traded Nick Allen to the Houston Astros in exchange for Nick Allen. That is, for my money, better infield depth than what Allen provided.
This past trade deadline, the Braves had expressed an interest in adding another corner outfielder. Mike Yastrzemski will now fill that need for Alex Anthopoulos. It is a move that will allow the Braves more flexibility, lineup-wise, on a day-in, day-out basis, and should allow Ronald Acuña Jr. to play the outfield more sparingly after 2 ACL tears.
Why no massive moves?
In short, they don’t need them. The type of offseason the Braves needed wasn’t necessarily to go out and sign a player like Bo Bichette to play shortstop. That was never going to be the best allocation of funds for Atlanta. Their roster was solid last year on paper and still is. They just got bit by the injury bug in an unprecedented way. Even if guys like Austin Riley, Matt Olson, and Ozzie Albies don’t return to the best versions of themselves, the Braves will be fine. That’s because…
Their starting rotation when healthy is one of the best in baseball. So they filled the holes they deemed present in the field, didn’t have a true need in the starting rotation, and spent big on a reliever. The bullpen was always the priority for Atlanta because you have an expectation of performance from a lot of guys throughout that lineup and in the starting rotation.
Final Note
Even if this is where Atlanta stops, this offseason has been a success for them. They landed a big fish in the bullpen and aimed even higher (Atlanta reportedly offered Edwin Diaz a 5-year contract before he signed with the Dodgers). In doing so, their payroll climbed to an estimated 260 million for the 2026 season (as of December 16th), which is currently top-5 in baseball and a marked improvement from the 214 million dollar estimated payroll they had in 2025.
Promises kept in Atlanta should point them back towards the NL East crown. Especially with the Phillies continuing to age and the Mets’ inability to keep their talent in-house this offseason.
Credit to FanGraphs for the financial details included.
