What the Braves GM stated about the slow offseason

Braves general manager defends sluggish offseason: “There’s still time.”

Surprisingly quiet this offseason, the Atlanta Braves have exited the postseason early two seasons in a row. During a rare interview conducted in the winter, general manager Alex Anthopoulos justified his lack of action by stating that he isn’t making any significant moves while Yoshinobu Yamamoto is being pursued by the Philadelphia Phillies and Shohei Ohtani is being signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“Do we respond to actions taken by other teams? When Jeff Schultz of The Athletic asked Anthopoulos if he felt more pressure now that major league rivals were acquiring key players, he responded, “You can’t.” “You must act in your organization’s best interest. You keep an eye on what the other teams are up to.

In response to a question about whether the Braves will join division rivals Philadelphia and New York in the bidding war for Japanese ace right-hander Yamamoto, Anthopoulos declined to comment.

With a lineup that set an MLB record for the most players with 30 home runs or more in a season (five), the Braves won 104 games in 2023. Individual records were also made by Atlanta players in a number of categories. Ronald Acuna Jr., the National League MVP, for example, set a franchise record in stolen bases.

But the Braves have failed to advance far in the postseason the last two years, leading many to think they ought to be busy this winter filling significant holes, especially in the bullpen.

According to Anthopoulos, “the postseason is a four-game sample size.” Yes, however, you must prevail. In the bullpen, it felt like we were light from the left side. During the trade deadline, we attempted to add left-handed relievers, but it was challenging.

The Braves haven’t taken many action to address the same problem thus far in the offseason. After joining the team from the Seattle Mariners, left-hander Marco Gonzales has had a difficult nine years in the major leagues.

Anthopoulos was quick to point out that the Braves still have time to actively participate in free agency and other matters, even with several months until Opening Day. For Braves supporters hoping for a different kind of postseason run in 2024, that should be encouraging.

“It’s December, and here we are,” stated Anthopoulos. It is still quite lively. There are still a lot of discussions. Therefore, there is still time.