ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves didn’t make any major moves until trading for reliever Joe Jiménez late on the last full day of the 2022 Winter Meetings in San Diego. However, they made their first big move at last year’s meetings in Nashville, trading outfielder Jarred Kelenic on Sunday night, when many meeting attendees were just settling in or were still on their way to Music City.

So good luck finding out what the ever-unpredictable Alex Anthopoulos, the Braves’ baseball president and general manager, has up his sleeve when the annual Winter Meetings begin Sunday night at the Hilton Anatole near downtown Dallas. They run until Wednesday.

What we do know is that the Braves have a greater need this year than they did last winter, when they had already signed pitcher Reynaldo López at the end of November and would trade for pitcher Chris Sale a few days after Christmas. These two moves produced far better first-year results than the Kelenic trade for Atlanta.

This time around, the Braves will need to add a starter with proven middle rotation or better, assuming they don’t re-sign free agent Max Fried, as strikeout machine Spencer Strider returns from internal elbow brace surgery in April 2024 and is not expected to do so before Be ready in May. They may also need to add a starter at the back end of the rotation if they don’t re-sign 41-year-old free agent Charlie Morton and don’t feel comfortable with the fifth starter’s internal options or depth.

Atlanta will also need to add at least one backup player, as the aforementioned Jiménez is expected to miss much, possibly all, of the 2025 season following knee surgery five weeks ago that revealed a worse-than-expected cartilage injury. Lefty AJ Minter is also a free agent, and while the Braves could re-sign him, it is uncertain whether he will be ready after undergoing season-ending left hip surgery in August and how effective he will be.

Alex Anthopoulos will be active, but don’t expect the Braves to cross the luxury tax threshold. (Adam Hagy/Getty Images)

Finally, the Braves need to add a solid cornerback-outfielder as 2023 MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., who underwent season-ending knee surgery after tearing his left ACL in late May, will be brought back on a more cautious schedule this time around than after he tore his right cruciate ligament in 2021. Like Strider, Acuña isn’t expected back until May and could be out until just before June.

The need for an outfielder is dual, as the Braves may have to think about replacing or at least filling Kelenic if he struggles again like he did during much of his first season in Atlanta. Anthopoulos is known for making bold moves, but a Kelenic trade seems unlikely, just a year after the Braves accepted more than $15 million in bad contracts for five years of control of the former top prospect Mariners who showed signs of five-man talent in 2024. But only flashes.

The Braves didn’t make any major additions this winter, their biggest moves came via subtractions: outfielder/DH Jorge Soler was traded to the Angels and veteran free agent catcher Travis d’Arnaud signed with the Angels after being traded from the Braves was not advertised. a cost-cutting move to free up the funds needed to meet these needs, preferably without exceeding the $241 million luxury tax threshold.

According to FanGraphs RosterResource, their projected luxury tax payroll is currently about $217 million, and for every dollar the Braves go over $241 million, they would be taxed at a 50 percent overage, as this is the third year As a result, by exceeding this limit the luxury tax limit would be reached. That won’t stop them from making the necessary moves and potentially making a little more than $241 million, but don’t expect the Braves to exceed that number this winter, especially since Anthopoulos likes to add new players at the trade deadline Plan for mid-season.

Since the Braves can’t cover all of their needs through free agency without significantly exceeding the luxury tax threshold — unless they trade away some other significant salaries first — there’s a good chance they might address at least one need through a trade this winter cover within the next week.

As teams that have inquired with the Braves have learned, top pitching prospect Hurston Waldrep, Atlanta’s first-round pick in 2023, is off limits. Catcher Drake Baldwin, the Braves’ top position player prospect, and pitcher Cam Caminiti, their 2024 first-rounder, also appear to be all but untouchable. Tradeable prospects who could be of interest to other teams include pitchers AJ Smith-Shawver and Drue Hackenberg and shortstop Nacho Alvarez.

The Braves’ goals in 2025 begin with reclaiming the National League East title after their streak of six straight games during an injury-riddled season in Atlanta was ended by the Phillies. They, too, are seeking a return to the World Series, but don’t expect the Braves to be as vocal as they were last spring, when Strider and several others proclaimed “World Series or bust” after Atlanta’s loss to the Phillies in the NLDS in 2022 and again in 2023.

Those goals were stymied by injuries literally from Opening Day – catcher Sean Murphy, strained obliquely – to the short 2024 postseason, when Cy Young Award winner Sale earned the Wild Card Series win over the Padres in San Diego missed. In between, the Braves lost star Strider in April, Acuña in May, third baseman Austin Riley (broken hand) in August and Ozzie Albies (broken wrist) for more than two months before the switch-hitting second baseman returned in late September. still unable to swing from the left side. There were many other injuries too. These were simply the most devastating in a season that quickly went wrong for the Braves.

They’ll still be trying to overcome some of those injuries when the 2025 season begins, a big reason the Braves’ to-do list could be more pressing in these winter meetings than in some recent years.

(Top photo by Spencer Strider: Gerald Herbert / Associated Press)