The Braves are set up perfectly to make a big trade

The Braves’ willingness to spend early this offseason has their roster in much better shape with several months still remaining until Spring Training. Mauricio Dubon and Mike Yastrzemski raise the floor at shortstop and in the outfield, while Raisel Iglesias and Robert Suarez give the club real juice at the back end of the bullpen. Atlanta might not be finished adding in those areas, but these moves give them flexibility to hunt for value in both free agency and the trade market.

According to Spotrac, the Braves’ payroll now sits at $227 million. If Terry McGuirk’s vision of operating as a top-five payroll holds true, that leaves Atlanta with roughly $25–30 million still to spend. That’s enough to land another high-priced free agent, but this is also the point in the offseason where Alex Anthopoulos typically shifts his attention toward trades.

The Braves have done their best work under Anthopoulos via the trade market, landing talents like Matt Olson and Chris Sale. While Atlanta doesn’t have the deepest farm system in baseball, they do have a surplus of arms that should appeal to rebuilding clubs.

Cam Caminiti and JR Ritchie are both widely regarded as top-100 prospects, with Ritchie a near lock to make his MLB debut next season. Didier Fuentes is pushing toward top-100 status as well, while Owen Murphy, Drue Hackenberg, Garrett Baumann, Jhancarlos Lara, and Briggs McKenzie are all intriguing pitching prospects that could be used as trade chips in the right deal.

Atlanta could also view this offseason as an opportunity to sell high on Hurston Waldrep. The former first-round pick struggled to find a rhythm in Gwinnett early in 2025, much like he did the year prior, but mid-season adjustments to his delivery and pitch mix completely changed his outlook. Waldrep finished the year in Atlanta, going 6-1 with a 2.88 ERA over 56.1 innings.

The Braves are high on Waldrep and view him as a potential long-term piece in the rotation. But if the opportunity arises to acquire a true, game-changing frontline starter, he could absolutely serve as the centerpiece of a blockbuster trade.

Prospects are fun to follow, and the Braves have been as good as any organization at developing pitchers. A new arm seems to emerge and make an immediate impact almost every season. But for a team with legitimate World Series aspirations, prospects — especially pitchers — are often best leveraged as trade currency. Atlanta has a lot of ammo to work with, and it feels like something big could be coming down the pike.

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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire

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