Atlanta Braves Miss Out on Premier Shortstop

After being named suitors on multiple occasions, the Braves miss out on the top shortstop on the market

The top shortstop free agent has inked a deal / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves miss out on signing the top free-agent shortstop. Willy Adames has reportedly signed a seven-year, $182 million deal with the San Francisco Giants.

Willy Adames to Giants. $182M, 7 years. Previous high for SF player was current team baseball president Buster Posey’s $167M deal.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 7, 2024

MLB Insider Jon Heyman also mentioned in another tweet that the Braves, along with the Giants and Dodgers, were the most active in pursuing Adames.

Since the start of the offseason, the Braves have had their name tossed around in the Adames sweepstakes. Just the day before, they were predicted to sign him. In early November, ESPN named the Braves as the best fit. In mid-November, MLB Network's Jon Morosi mention the Braves were on the pursuit.

Given the Braves' priorities this offseason, the top one being to stay under the luxury tax threshold, it's not a surprise that they were unable to sign Adames. He signed for $26 million per season and that would've automatically pushed the Braves over the threshold. When they have to still address starting pitching, the bullpen and the outfield, it wouldn't have been the best move.

These are the types of deals that have forced the Braves to shift their priorities heading into the winter meetings. There are no guarantees that they wind up with Adames in the end, but it's hard to ignore the limit space under the luxury tax has influenced how the Braves are going about their offseason.

While acquiring a shortstop is still possible, this set of priorities likely means they'll roll with who they already have. Their current shortstop, Orlando Arcia, is still around on the cheap. The Braves might choose to bank on last season's performance at the plate being an aggregious outlier and Arcia has a better year.

If that's not the case, they can give recently acquired Nick Allen a try or prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. Allen hasn't shown to have a hold of MLB pitching yet, but he has a strong glove. Alvarez lacks the glove, but he still has the ceiling offensively. He had three hits in 30 at-bats in his first stint in MLB, but in Triple-A, he slashed .297/.398/.463 with 10 home runs in 64 games.