2025-2026 offseason thread

Woodruff is my top choice for SP, and my top overall want in FA (I have zero faith we will be in on Tucker). Cease is Plan B. Valdez and Suarez are nice, I just doubt we get into those bidding wars. We absolutely should NOT be trading for a pitcher this winter. I don't really care who is available. This is shaping up to be a very good SP class, so just spend the money if you want a starter or 2 and save the prospects.

It's a hard pass on Bichette for me at this current projected prices. It's simply a terrible idea going over 200 million or 7+ years for Bichette.

I am still of the opinion we should trade Murphy for a SS. Masyn Wynn would be the ideal candidate. But trading him in a package for a top prospect like JJ Wetherholt, Jordan Lawler, or Sebastian Walcott would also work. I also think JP Crawford is a great fit, but we would need a 3rd team involved since the Mariners have no use for Murphy. I also like the idea of trading for Correa, but obviously not in a trade featuring Murphy.

Devin Williams should be a priority too. He'll probably come on a 1 year prove it deal to rebuild value. But maybe we could get him on something similar to the Jimenez deal.

I would also probably bring in another solid SP option and let Holmes and Lopez go to the pen and be able to be stretched out for the rotation in case the need arises. Maybe go after a bounce back candidate like Gallen or Eflin. Or maybe just a solid veteran like Civale, Lorenzen, or Giolito.
 
Carp said:
Having 2 top 5 catchers is simply not a luxury we can afford with the holes we have on this team.
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This is the crux of the "trade Murphy" argument.

The Braves can't have 2 star players sitting the bench part time while running out below average players elsewhere (Allen, White, Albies, Harris, Profar, Elder, etc, etc). Even if they did allow Murphy/Baldwin to rotate between C/DH, they still need to give each of them real days off, at which point someone like Eli White is playing.

Going into 2026 with Eli White guaranteed to make starts is not an acceptable Plan A for a contending team.

Going into 2026 with half the position players projecting for ~1 WAR is not an acceptable Plan A.

So unless AA has the funds for 2-3 bats and 1-2 SPs, it stands to reason Murphy should be cashed in to fill one of those massive holes every single person on the planet (except maybe AA) can see on the roster.
 
I'm gun shy on Bichette bc he'll have to go to 2nd base soon bc his defense is blah and it'll be 200 million. Use Murphy to get a top SS prospect that's ready and it should be able to happen bc the Cards need to trade one and the Rangers have Seager. With SS being cheap for a while we can get 1 big bat for the OF and a big time SP in here and have plenty left to bring in Williams and some good bench pieces. I wonder if AA tried to use Profar in a deal for Buxton? Something tells me he did and they said no.
 
So if Waldrep has indeed turned a corner and can be at least a back end starter, we may only need 1 starter in the off-season. We'll see how he finishes this season. He should get another 8-10 starts to get a good read on. I am not convinced yet, but his command has been great these first 2 starts.

Ideally , you sign Woodruff or Cease. That gives you a top 4 of Sale, Schwelly, Woodruff/Cease and Strider. There's a lot of injury risk in that group, but you would be hard pressed to find a more talented top 4, especially if Strider can build up his strength over the off-season and get closer to the pitcher he was before injury.

Then I would put Lopez and Holmes back in the pen, at least to start the year. If you need them in the rotation, you can stretch them out. But putting those 2 in the pen should be a huge boost to the BP and help keep those 2 guys healthy. And at this point, I think Wentz is definitely a part of the 2026 BP, He also gives you another semi decent option you could move to the rotation to cover for injury.
 
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yeah i agree that lopez and (especially) holmes should start the year in the bullpen. a pen with lopez/holmes/johnson/lee/lopez/bummer is already pretty strong without signing anyone.
 
We should have a lot more and better options next year with Richie, Fuentes, and Murphy a lot closer to being ready and AJSS coming back from TJ. We can't go into the offseason thinking that though and skip adding an impact SP and having a repeat of 25 but Cease or Woodruff would be huge
 
rawwr said:
yeah i agree that lopez and (especially) holmes should start the year in the bullpen. a pen with lopez/holmes/johnson/lee/lopez/bummer is already pretty strong without signing anyone.
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Bummer is a Bum.. I hope they can find a way to trade that contract for next year and just replace him with Lara or Harris or even Dodd for that matter.
 
Hudson2 said:
We should have a lot more and better options next year with Richie, Fuentes, and Murphy a lot closer to being ready and AJSS coming back from TJ. We can't go into the offseason thinking that though and skip adding an impact SP and having a repeat of 25 but Cease or Woodruff would be huge
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I hope the team doesn't count on any of those guys next year. The Team needs to add 1-2 starters and a better medical staff..
 
Hudson2 said:
We should have a lot more and better options next year with Richie, Fuentes, and Murphy a lot closer to being ready and AJSS coming back from TJ. We can't go into the offseason thinking that though and skip adding an impact SP and having a repeat of 25 but Cease or Woodruff would be huge
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AJ won't be back next year in all likelihood. He probably won't even start a throwing program until August at the earliest.
 
Hudson2 said:
I thought they said the all star break or right after he should be back.
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That seems super optimistic given he is having full on TJS. Are you sure you weren't thinking of Holmes or something?

TJS recovery period is 12-14 months. Even optimistically, he might start a throwing program in June/July of next year. That might make him available in August/Sept. But that seems super optimistic. And he's a guy with barely any experience as it is. I doubt we see him in Atlanta in 2026.
 
Carp said:
That seems super optimistic given he is having full on TJS. Are you sure you weren't thinking of Holmes or something?

TJS recovery period is 12-14 months. Even optimistically, he might start a throwing program in June of next year. That might make him available in August/Sept. But that seems super optimistic. And he's a guy with barely any experience as it is. I doubt we see him in Atlanta in 2026.
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Yeah it was AJSS they were talking about so who knows. He could have a set back and be out all of next year. Either way he can't be counted on for anything next year.
 
you really shouldn't count on any pitcher who is coming back from TJS for at least a year AFTER he starts throwing.

AJSS hopefully will get a few minor league games under his belt in 2026 so he can have a full off season to build everything back up. But I wouldn't even start him in ATL in 2027.. let him start in AAA and see how he progresses.
 
Keep Murphy and gimme Bader Bichette King and Amed Rosario

Bichette
Acuna
Olson
Riley
Baldwin/Murphy
Profar
Harris
Bader
Albies

Rotate DH between Baldwin Murphy and Acuna

Bader/Murphy/Baldwin/Profar
Rosario
White
Allen

Sale
Strider
King
Schwellenbach
Wentz

Jimenez
Holmes
Lopez
Johnson
Hernandez
Lee
Bummer
Dodd
 
Slippyjms said:
Keep Murphy and gimme Bader Bichette King and Amed Rosario

Bichette
Acuna
Olson
Riley
Baldwin/Murphy
Profar
Harris
Bader
Albies

Rotate DH between Baldwin Murphy and Acuna

Bader/Murphy/Baldwin/Profar
Rosario
White
Allen

Sale
Strider
King
Schwellenbach
Wentz

Jimenez
Holmes
Lopez
Johnson
Hernandez
Lee
Bummer
Dodd
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They definitely need to add a piece like Devin Williams to the bp imo. If the money is there Williams and Chapman really make it strong. I do like Michael King though. If we can't get Cease or Woodruff he would be my main option.
 
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