The Atlanta Braves could be heading into the offseason off a second World Series in three years, but which free agents should Alex Anthopoulos let leave?
Anything can happen when it comes to October baseball, but all signs currently point to the Atlanta Braves capturing the franchise's second World Series victory in the last three years. They've been the best team in baseball all season long, even with being forced to endure a litany of injuries to crucial players.
Whether or not they come out on top of the Fall Classic again or not, though, Alex Anthopoulos has built this team to last. The Braves core is locked up for several seasons — on team-friendly contracts, no less — and they should continue to dominate as long as the group headlined by Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, and so on remains intact.
Anthopoulos will have some work to do in the 2023-24 offseason working in the margins of the roster in free agency. Yes, that could include making a big splash to sign players like Josh Hader, Cody Bellinger, or — gulp — Shohei Ohtani. But it also means making the right decisions with the Braves' pending free agents.
Looking at the class of players who could leave in free agency offseason, though, three players stand out as prime candidates to be allowed to walk, but one Brave should definitely be re-signed as well.
Braves free agent to let walk for 2024, No. 3: Kirby Yates, RP
This one was a bit tough to come around on, but in the long run, I think it makes sense for the Braves to not pick up the $5.8 million club option that they have with veteran right-handed reliever Kirby Yates.
On the whole, the numbers have been quite good for the 36-year-old pitcher. In 46 appearances on the season, Yates has posted a 2.93 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP, both of which look solid. And there's no denying that, when the veteran has been locked in on the mound, he's continued to deliver for the Braves.
But the underlying numbers are far less kind.
Yates' FIP sits at 4.64 this season with an xERA of 4.69, per Fangraphs. Put simply, he's been getting lucky — and we've also seen the flashes of what happens when he's not getting fortunate on the mound. In nine April appearances, Yates had an ERA at 4.15. It was even worse over 10 appearances in July when he had a 5.19 ERA.
Given his age and that lack of overall reliable performance, it's difficult to think that the Braves can't find a similarly-priced upgrade on the free agency market and that Anthopoulos should be happy to let him walk.
Braves free agent to let walk for 2024, No. 2: Kevin Pillar, OF
We've seen an absolute platoon in the Atlanta outfield this season with Eddie Rosario, Sam Hilliard, and Kevin Pillar, among a few others, seeing time in left field. Because of that, the Braves have had terrific flexibility with their lineup. Looking ahead, though, they have some decisions to make.
Rosario has a $9 million club option for the 2024 season, but Pillar, who will be 35 years old at the start of next season, will be an unrestricted free agent. And with a bevy of options to upgrade the right-handed bat in that aforementioned platoon for left field, it might make sense to let the veteran walk.
Make no mistake, Pillar has pulled out some big moments at times this season, including several clutch hits and even a few defensive plays. But on the whole, his production at the plate just hasn't been reliable.
In 60 appearances and 132 at-bats on the season, Pillar is slashing just .235/.266/.432 on the season. He does have 14 extra-base hits and 20 RBI to his credit but for such a dangerous lineup in Atlanta, he just hasn't gotten on base nearly enough to justify bringing him back into the fold next season.
Pillar hasn't been a bust by any measure, but the fact of the matter is that there are better options moving forward, which should be the impetus to let the veteran walk.
Braves free agent to let walk for 2024, No. 1: Charlie Morton, SP
This one's a tough one. Charlie Morton has been one of the stalwarts of the rotation in recent years and a steadying veteran presence in the rotation. He won a World Series with the Braves in 2021 and continued to be solid for Atlanta last year too.
But while the numbers this year are a bit better on the surface, anyone watching the club and the 39-year-old pitcher (who will be 40 years old at the start of the 2024 season) can tell you that he's just not been the same player this season.
The biggest indicator of that for Morton is the 1.46 WHIP that he's posted this season. That's the highest that the veteran right-hander has posted in over a decade, 2011 to be exact. The 3.71 ERA on the year somewhat masks that but, when you dig a bit deeper, you see that he's another guy who's been fortunate this season with a 4.91 xERA on the season, per Fangraphs.
Given his age and the fact that he hasn't much zip on his stuff for some time, that alone would be enough for the Braves to decline the $20 million club option that's on the line for the 2024 season. But even then, this is a rotation that could stand to get younger with the likes of Jared Shuster or AJ Smith-Shawver along with a potential free agent addition as well.
Morton has been everything the Braves could've hoped for since bringing him into the fold. All good things must end, though, and his tenure in Atlanta should be one of those things after this season.
Braves free agent to re-sign for 2024: Joe Jimenez, RP
Going back to the way that Alex Anthopoulos has built this roster, one of the things that stands out when looking at the Braves' pending free agents for the 2023-24 offseason is the age of the players who are coming off of the books. Essentially, it is a host of older players or even little-used veterans who are also on the wrong side of 30.
One of the major exceptions to that, however, is reliever Joe Jimenez.
The Braves acquired Jimenez in a quiet offseason trade with the Tigers this past December and the 28-year-old right-hander has been one of the quiet forces for the club out of the bullpen this season. He's posted a solid 2.72 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP on the season.
More importantly, the underlying numbers back that up. While his 2.94 xERA and 3.52 FIP do indicate that he's been a little bit lucky on the season, that's still a solid showing for a pitcher who is coming into his own in a better situation than he was in with Detroit.
Given that he's the youngest free agent that could come off of the books for the Braves this offseason and the fact that Atlanta has lacked bullpen depth at times this season, it makes sense to bring Jimenez back and build off of the performance that he's put forth this year.
Even better, re-signing Jimenez should come quite cheaply, which won't hinder Anthopoulos from making any splash he plans to elsewhere in free agency.
