Braves Predicted To Steal $60 Million Star From Red Sox In Free Agency
The Atlanta Braves struggled with starting pitching depth in 2024. After losing their ace, Spencer Strider, for the season, the Braves never filled out the fifth spot in the rotation.
This offseason, Atlanta has watched Max Fried and Charlie Morton head out the door in free agency. The Braves need to respond by adding a pitcher or two to replace these two stars.
Rowan Kavner of FOX Sports recently predicted the Braves to sign Boston Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta this winter. Pivetta is projected to sign a $60 million deal, per Spotrac. “If the Braves want to keep the honor of the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the majors, Pivetta would help.
He pitched much better in 2024 than his 6-12 record or 4.14 ERA would indicate (his expected ERA was 3.51), putting together the 10th-best K/BB ratio among all starters with at least 100 innings,” Kavner wrote. “The qualifying offer he rejected could be a hold-up in finding a new team, but perhaps the Braves – who will be getting a compensation pick after Fried went to the Yankees – would be a willing suitor.”
Pivetta may not be a world-beater, but he would certainly be better than some of the pitchers the Braves have on their roster right now.
The Red Sox have already replaced Pivetta by acquiring Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler, so Boston won’t be a competitor to Atlanta for the right-hander’s services.
If the Braves can land the righty, they would need to add one more pitcher to fill out their rotation.
Braves: Has Alex Anthopoulos been too patient this offseason?
The outfield is a complete mess. Michael Harris II is a superstar in center field, but there’s currently not a single proven starter on the roster to play left or right field. Jarred Kelenic has some upside, but he was benched at the end of last season in favor of Ramon Laureano. Still, that’s far better than the situation in right field. Ronald Acuña Jr. is expected to miss at least six weeks, and nobody behind him is deserving of starting every day, even if it is just for a couple of months. In a division as competitive as the NL East, it’s not good enough, especially for a team with legitimate championship aspirations like the Braves.
The bullpen is in just as rough of shape. A.J. Minter is now with the Mets, and Joe Jimenez is scheduled to miss most of the 2025 campaign and possibly all of it. That leaves the Braves with Raisel Iglesias… and not much else. The Braves don’t currently have a true set-up man on their roster. However, of all the areas, there are still a lot of relievers left on the open market. This is an area that can be rather easily resolved before the start of the season.
Then, there is the rotation. It’s not as glaring of a need as the outfield or bullpen with Spencer Strider due to return early in the season, but some quality depth wouldn’t hurt. This is a team that has suffered a multitude of injuries to their starting pitchers over the years, and if one of their top guys goes down, it’s going to be tough to compete in the National League.
