Braves Signal They're Serious About Contending With Signings of Yastrzemski, Suarez

The Atlanta Braves are the only team in baseball that's signed three Top-50 free agents this winter

When you think of the teams with the biggest wallets in Major League Baseball, the teams that are threats to sign any free agent, there are a few names that come to mind: The New York Mets, owned by mega-billionaire Steve Cohen. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who have a vast advertising network in the Pacific Rim and a roster loaded with mega contracts. The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees also come up, both of whom have some of the largest contracts in baseball, given to Aaron Judge ($40M AAV) and Zack Wheeler ($42M).

Oh, and the Atlanta Braves.

Wait, what?

While Atlanta’s usually not in the mix at the absolute top of the market, owing to their self-imposed $22M AAV ‘Atlanta Max’ limit, they’ve been among the most prolific teams this winter. Of the consensus Top 50 free agents available this offseason, the Braves have signed a whopping three of them in outfielder Mike Yastrzemski and closers Raisel Iglesias and Robert Suarez. The only other team that has signed more than one is the Toronto Blue Jays, who inked starters Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce.¹

What can we learn from Atlanta’s spending spree? Let’s talk about it.

MLB players respect the organization’s effort

One of the constant themes running through the various media availabilities, quarterly earnings calls, and other public comment moments for Atlanta’s executives is how they did not make the playoffs, and they are…less than thrilled about that.

“In a rare year where we did not make the playoffs,” said Atlanta Braves Holdings chairman Terry McGuirk in the Q3 earnings call, “we remain focused and optimistic on returning to our winning ways and getting back to the postseason next year.”

Despite that rough season, the free agents themselves are still optimistic about Atlanta’s future. Yastrzemski said the differentiator between his offers, which included the Braves and the team he finished last season with, the Kansas City Royals, was the competitiveness of the organization. “The strong commitment to constantly trying to win a championship” was the deciding factor in Yaz joining the Braves, an organization he has always admired from a distance.

“My dad played in the Braves’ system back in the day. Any time the Braves came through Fenway [Park], we’d always go to say hi to Bobby Cox, because my dad knew him/ So, I have these long-term memories of rooting for the Braves from afar.”

Yaz’s father, Carl Yastrzemski Jr., was a 3rd-round pick by the Atlanta Braves in the 1984 Draft and spent five seasons in Atlanta’s farm system, reaching Triple-A and hitting .273/.346/.390 before retiring after the 1988 season. His father’s manager in Single-A Durham in that 1984 season? Brian Snitker.

Despite growing up in Massachusetts as the grandson of Red Sox legend and Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, several Braves legends were the ones who made a lasting impact on the childhood of Mike Yastrzemski. “I was a huge Chipper [Jones] fan. I grew up idolizing Andrew Jones playing center field. Like, those were the types of plays that I dreamed of making one day. so the appeal of the [Braves] history is a big thing for me.”

While he didn’t directly address it, it’s easy to imagine Yastrzemski being eager to arrive at Braves spring training, given that those legends are normally in attendance.  “[They] have a history of great players that I know are still around and willing to step in and help out and bring in some great information; those are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.”

Yastrzemski is comfortable with whatever role he’s asked to play, but he understands that time at all three outfield spots is in his future, even if everyday playing time is not. “ What I had been told is there’d be some at-bats in left. And with the DH [spot] being flexible, then there’s days where I could play [in] right, give Ronnie [Acuña Jr.] a DH day if he needs a blow. You know, if Mike [Harris] needs a blow, I could spend a day in center.”

Something likely making the transition easier for the outfielder is the fact that he has a multi-year deal, something that allows him to not worry about his individual production and focus on the team’s goals.

“Being in an organization that’s committed to [winning] has always brought the best out in me. And when I got to the point in my career where it felt like I had to start playing for a contract, playing for another year of surviving, sticking around, the best didn’t get brought out in me. And so knowing that there are so many staples here and so many unbelievable players, that was super intriguing to me, to just blend into a culture that is established and [be] really, really ready to make a good [playoff] run.”

While Yastrzemski didn’t directly break down why Truist Park is ideally suited for his offensive game, which relies on a disproportionate number of pulled fly balls, he was clearly happy to be in a more favorable offensive environment with a target like The Chop House to aim his left-handed power swing towards. “ When I was playing at Oracle [Park, in San Francisco], when I was playing at Kaufman [Stadium, in Kansas City]. It was a matter of circumstance. And so now that the circumstances are seemingly a little friendlier, maybe it’ll help.”²

It’s expected as of now that Yastrzemski will be in the field against right-handed pitching, against whom he put up an .809 OPS (124 OPS+) last year. Yaz’s defensive versatility - he has over 4800 defensive innings in the outfield corners, as well as another 1473 in center - means that he can step into any position on the field and give those incumbents a ‘half-day’ at designated hitter.

And if the Braves add a full-time shortstop, pushing Mauricio Dubón to true utility duties, Atlanta manager Walt Weiss can construct a particularly lethal platoon at any outfield position. Dubón, with a career .762 OPS (127 OPS+) against left-handed pitching, can play any defensive position at an above-average level and would pair with Yaz to replicate a lot of the offensive performance of a top-end starter.

The bullpen is ‘going to be very good’

Similar to Yastrzemski, Atlanta’s addition of two-time All-Star closer Robert Suarez was driven by the organization’s stellar reputation throughout the game. “I continue to hear so many good things about the team, this organization, the way they treat their players, and the city of Atlanta itself,” said Suarez, who spoke to the media on Thursday afternoon through a Braves interpreter.

“I’m just really excited to join this club,” Suarez told us, explaining that he spent time on the phone with Jurickson Profar before making his decision. “As far back as I can remember, they’ve always been competitive. Other than last year, they’re in the postseason every year. I’ve only heard good things about this [Braves] clubhouse and this team, and I’m excited to be a member of it.”

The plan for Suarez, who signed for three years and $45M guaranteed, is to spend his first season in Atlanta as the setup man for incumbent Raisel Iglesias, something that Suarez has absolutely zero problem with. “I had a really good conversation [with Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos],” Suarez explained to us through Franco Garcia, Atlanta’s team interpreter. “Obviously, knowing Iglesias was there, I’m willing to do whatever needs to be done to add my little grain of sand and help the team in any way it needs me to.”

He confirmed that while he had not yet formally met Iglesias, the two were friendly when they crossed paths and he had no doubt they would mesh into a formidable tandem in the late innings of close games. “I feel like that’s become a real strength there. We’ve really fortified the back end. I’m looking forward to talking to Iglesias. I think we’ll get along great.”

Suarez, who throws predominantly just a four-seam fastball, sinker, and changeup, ultimately chose the Braves because of the strength of their reputation throughout the game. “I had a lot of conversations with other teams,” Suarez explained, but Atlanta stands alone as a unique destination, in no small part due to the presence of fellow Venezuelan Ronald Acuña Jr. “He is a star here [in Venezuela] and represents our country well,” and it clearly meant a lot to Suarez to be on the same roster as the 2023 MVP, who had already called and left him a voicemail.

So, what’s next?

The configuration of the two contracts means that Atlanta still has some available funds to spend this winter.

Yastrzemski’s deal, which was announced as a two-year, $23M pact, carries salaries of $9M and $10M in the next two seasons plus a $4M buyout on a $7M club option for 2028, his age-38 season.

Suarez’s deal has a similar slight backload, with the setup man’s three-year, $45M deal granting him $13M this season before his salary escalates to $16M for each of 2027 and 2028. The pay raise corresponds with a potential promotion to closer, if Iglesias is not re-signed after his one-year deal expires next November.

Between Iglesias, who received his same $16M salary as last season, and the payments to Yastrzemski and Suarez, Atlanta’s payroll sits at $241M per FanGraphs. With the first CBT tier rising to $244M this season, the Braves could potentially spend $30M, retain their usual $8-10M reserve for in-season acquisitions, and still be below the third CBT tier of $284M. Anthopoulos has explained before that the team does not want to exceed that third tier, as the financial penalties are paired with the team’s highest draft pick being pushed back ten spots in the next year’s draft.

“If you have these teams that are well over, you’re losing draft position and things like that. There’s a real opportunity cost there. The opportunity cost [for us] is dollars. It’s not, in my view, the same as moving back in the draft and things like that.”

But what does the team use this available spending capacity for? Reinforcing the bullpen with Iglesias and Suarez, plus the potential to get injured Joe Jimenez back for next year, means that Reynaldo López and Grant Holmes are likely to be stretched out as starters for spring training. Does Atlanta still attempt to add another “impact” starter, as Anthopoulos termed it prior to the Winter Meetings?

While the free agent class doesn’t have any clear upgrades over the existing rotation that wouldn’t require losing a draft pick as a penalty for signing a Qualifying Offer player, executing a trade for a frontline starter like Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta is possible.

Or do the Braves continue fortifying the lineup by acquiring a full-time shortstop, pushing Dubón into a super-utility role and giving Atlanta perhaps their best bench depth of the Anthopoulos era? While Bo Bichette is likely not in Atlanta’s plans, due to cost and his defensive limitations at short, He-Seong Kim is familiar with the organization and will likely sign after Bichette establishes the market and ramps up the desperation among teams that want to secure an upgrade this winter.

Just about every realistic acquisition is still on the table, but which direction does the team go between now and spring training? Because as much as we want to stick our heads in the sand and avoid it, the ‘championship window’ is closing a little bit in the coming years. Ronald Acuña Jr. has just three more years of team control, which Jurickson Profar has two, Ozzie Albies has just one, and Chris Sale is done after this season.

Do the Braves get a bit more aggressive at moving minor leaguers to fill every hole and push for a championship? Or do they attempt to prolong the window through more free agent signings and trade acquisitions?

It’s going to be a fascinating winter, either way. And Opening Day can’t get here soon enough.

1. The Braves have outspent the Blue Jays, as well, with the Atlanta additions costing $42.5M AAV and Toronto’s at ‘only’ $37.02M. Must be the currency conversion rate from loonies to freedom bucks.

2. Per MLB Statcast, Truist Park has been the 7th-best ballpark for lefty home runs in the last three seasons. Oracle Park and Kauffman Stadium have been 26th and 28th, respectively. (This is only out of 28 parks because neither Tampa Bay’s Tropicana Field nor the Oakland Coliseum were in use for all three years of the sample)