BREAKING NEWS: Braves Insider reveals club are in advance offseason trade after shifting focus to shedding salary

The Braves have been among the busiest teams in what has been a relatively quiet offseason. They’ve re-signed a number of their own players and made a number of trades. They were also interested in Aaron Nola, who re-signed with the Phillies, and Sonny Gray before he signed with the Cardinals. Their sights are set on adding a marquee name to this rotation, but in order to do so, they may have to sacrifice some salary.

After acquiring Jarred Kelenic, Marco Gonzales, and Evan White from the Mariners, the Braves’ projected Opening Day payroll is already significantly higher than it has ever been. Kelenic is owed pennies for the next two years and is expected to be the team’s left fielder, but Gonzales is owed $12 million in 2024 and Evan White is owed $15 million over the next two seasons.

Gonzales is expected to be included in another trade, according to Ken Rosenthal, and the Braves are likely to try to make a similar deal to get rid of White’s salary.

However, they may not be the only candidates who could be moved to help the Braves save money while also providing a better product on the field. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman recently suggested Marcell Ozuna and Raisel Iglesias as possible trade candidates.
Alternatively, the Braves could try to trade designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, who is owed $18 million before his contract expires at the end of the 2024 season, or closer Raisel Iglesias, who is owed $16 million over the next two seasons.

This year, Ozuna rebounded with a 40-homer season. The Braves could bank on him repeating his success. Alternatively, they could sell high and bolster their pitching staff.

Iglesias is another sell-high candidate. He’s a reliable and experienced closer. However, Reynaldo Lopez, Pierce Johnson, Joe Jiménez, and A.J. Minter appear to be capable of filling that role.
I’m sure the Braves aren’t interested in paying higher luxury tax penalties for players who won’t have an impact, such as Marco Gonzales and Evan White. They should do everything they can to get rid of their contracts, but there’s a reason the Mariners had to give up Jarred Kelenic to do the same thing. It will be much easier said than done.

However, I’m not sure the Braves want to actively make their team worse in order to save money. It makes sense to sell high on Marcell Ozuna. It’s unlikely that he’ll be able to replicate his season from this year. At the same time, Ozuna has been an important part of the clubhouse. That’s why, despite his struggles on and off the field, the Braves held on to him for so long.

I’m even less convinced that the Braves will consider trading Raisel Iglesias. He isn’t the best closer in baseball, but he’s had a lot of success in Atlanta and, more importantly, a lot of experience closing games.

It’s not every day that clubs actively shop their closers during a championship window.

This offseason, the Braves have prioritized the bullpen. Following their offseason acquisitions, it is poised to be one of the best in baseball. Even if it saves the club $32 million over the next two seasons, trading Iglesias puts the Braves relief core in a worse position than it was in 2023. That is not something I believe Alex Anthopoulos is interested in achieving.