ESPN MLB Insider Names Braves as Team in Need of a Move

The Atlanta Braves have been quiet all offseason, and even if they have the pieces already, one MLB insider thinks they need to make a deal happen

The Braves have a good team, but that doesn't mean they don't need some upgrades / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves still have yet to blink this offseason on the free agent and trade market. By this time last season, they had made the gutsy move to acquire eventual Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale. This time, it’s crickets. 

Even the top MLB writers are caught off guard by it. One of those is ESPN’s Jeff Passan. 

In his piece from Monday, Passan included the Braves as a team that is in need of a move this offseason. He has been left surprised by the Braves' lack of action, specifically in the early period of the offseason. 

“It has been alarming to see the Braves' swashbuckling president of baseball operations, Alex Anthopoulos, spend the entirety of his winter not making moves,” Passan wrote. “Anthopoulos has been the king of the early-winter strike, whether it's via free agency or trade -- and yet he has not signed a single major league free agent amid the Braves losing Fried and Morton in free agency.”

Longtime catcher Travis d’Arnaud also departed in free agency. 

They led off the offseason by offloading Jorge Soler, which Passan mentioned as well, but that has been it besides the barrage of minor league deals. It gave the feeling that they were setting themselves up for a big move that never came. While it’s quick to think we were given a false impression, the reality is that they’re not in this situation for lack of trying. 

The word was that the Braves were in on shortstop Willy Adames before he signed with the San Francisco Giants. They were also in on starting pitcher Jesus Lazardo before he was ultimately traded to the rival Philadelphia Phillies. 

We know they are interested in left-handed all-star reliever Tanner Scott, but there are no guarantees they sign him either.  Fans are starting to get anxious. Despite the shock of what has come about, Passan isn’t necessarily concerned.  

First, he seems confident something will happen before Spring Training starts. 

“Sometime before the Braves report to North Port, it'll happen.”

On top of that, he still sees this roster as playoff caliber, even to the point where they’re capable of making it to October without MVP outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and starting pitcher Spencer Strider. 

“Whether Atlanta spreads its gains out over a number of players to exploit falling prices or prefers to go after a single impact-type player, the Braves are poised to add Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider to a team good enough to make the postseason without them.” 

They'll be great additions too. While it's an unsatifying answer to say that they're anticipating these two guys coming back, just remember this. By June, both of these guys were unavailable. Having both of these guys would have made a world of difference. After being absent that long, it really is like making two great additions.

It would be dishonest if I came here and said a healthy Braves team was not in the position to go on a run. They are. It's consistently pointed out for a reason. But that isn't an excuse to do nothing either.

The Braves were never going to be in the “win the offseason” category with how the offseason has been going, but Passan could have chosen to leave them out of this piece entirely. 

Even with a roster that is as good the one in Atlanta that will soon gain two All-Stars simply via getting healthy, they need to do someting. Even the Dodgers who just won the World Series kept adding. It's all about the push to get better than ever before.