{"id":432149,"date":"2025-12-08T00:50:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T00:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/432149\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T00:50:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T00:50:16","slug":"braves-trade-rumors-alex-anthopoulos-speaks-ahead-of-winter-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/432149\/","title":{"rendered":"Braves Trade Rumors: Alex Anthopoulos speaks ahead of Winter Meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Winter Meetings have (un-)officially gotten started, as all of baseball\u2019s higher-ups and luminaries have descended upon Orlando, Florida for a week of getting some offseason business done. While we\u2019re all looking forward to fireworks, Alex Anthopoulos is simply trying to get a job done \u2014 even if it means starting it at the Winter Meetings and finishing it somewhere down the road later this offseason. He spoke to the press on Sunday evening and gave a bit of a debriefing on what to expect and how things have been going so far during this particular offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe meetings are definitely a focus of the offseason but it\u2019s just a continuation, right,\u201d explained AA. \u201cThere\u2019s no difference for us between today, tomorrow, the day after. Obviously it\u2019s great for the industry and the game seeing everybody get together but things haven\u2019t changed for us.\u201d With that being said, Anthopoulos is still focused on doing what he can in order to fortify the squad going forward. \u201cThings don\u2019t change because the Meetings officially start tomorrow. The focus is the same,\u201d stated Anthopoulos. \u201cWe\u2019re looking to get better and obviously at this time of year, there\u2019s two ways to do that: Trade and free agency.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the offseason, you have to work with what\u2019s available \u2014 similar to the Trade Deadline,\u201d continued AA. \u201cThere\u2019s ways to make your team better, whether it\u2019s on the mound or the position player side. You\u2019re looking for deals that you think make sense. As much as you\u2019d like to fill certain spots or do certain things, if an opportunity presents itself where it\u2019s not the cleanest fit but it\u2019s a good deal, then you\u2019re probably still going to run that play out.\u201d<\/p>\n

So while Alex Anthopoulos is focused on making the team better, he\u2019s not exactly pointing a laser right at his target \u2014 or at least he isn\u2019t doing so publicly. He\u2019s a GM, after all. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that we\u2019re focused on the \u2018one thing we need to do\u2019 \u2014 when you miss the Postseason and finish under .500, there\u2019s a lot of areas where you can improve,\u201d explained AA.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking for opportunities. The areas of the roster are pretty clear where we can add but you know, there might be some things we do that maybe aren\u2019t as obvious but we think it makes the team better. Those are the types of opportunities that end up being available this Winter,\u201d said AA. One of those \u201cpretty clear\u201d areas is starting pitcher and while AA didn\u2019t shut the door on this being a priority need of improvement going forward, he did state publicly that the Braves aren\u2019t exactly panicking when it comes to their rotation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have more information on our roster right now that we\u2019re into December than we did at the start of the offseason,\u201d revealed AA as he went on to specify how he\u2019s feeling about the rotation at the moment. \u201cSpecifically on the mound, we\u2019ve got some really, really encouraging reports on all of those starters who got hurt. Guys like [Spencer] Schwellenbach, [Spencer] Strider, [Reynaldo] L\u00f3pez, [Grant] Holmes. Everybody\u2019s looking good and feeling good throwing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with the reportedly clean bill of health, Alex Anthopoulos still didn\u2019t close the door on adding a starter if the right opportunity came up. \u201cWe\u2019d still like to [improve our starting pitching],\u201d confirmed AA. He did go on to explain that the improving health of the internal options has played a factor in their offseason dealings. He went on to add that \u201cThere was much more uncertainty at the beginning of the offseason and even at the GM Meetings [in November]. We just didn\u2019t know but as we\u2019re progressing, you know, we\u2019ve had Winters where we get to this time of year a player reports into the training staff and says \u2018Look, I\u2019m a little sore, I\u2019ve been throwing [\u2026] It\u2019s actually gone the opposite this year where everyone\u2019s doing well. We have guys coming to the ballpark day in and day out and playing catch and throwing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ATLANTA,<\/a><\/p>\n

ATLANTA, GA – JULY 06: Grant Holmes #66 of the Atlanta Braves leaves the field prior to the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Sunday, July 6, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kathryn Skeean\/MLB Photos via Getty Images) MLB Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Still, AA continued to maintain that even with the fluid situation, they\u2019d still like to fortify their rotation just to make sure that the depth is there.\u201c \u201cI don\u2019t think it changes that we\u2019d like to add, though. I think just having depth is always a good thing,\u201d AA reiterated. He continued on by sharing some of the information he found out from Grant Holmes as he\u2019s been progressing from a serious injury during that doomed 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the beginning of the offseason, I talked to Grant Holmes and I said [\u2026] \u2018Look: I\u2019m not counting on you in any form. You\u2019re out of options. We\u2019ll plug you in as the last guy out of the \u2018pen and see how it goes,\u201d said AA. \u201cI just talked to him maybe a week ago and I just kept saying \u2018Look, I keep getting these unbelievable reports, I want to hear from you.\u2019 He\u2019s like \u2018Look, my stuff is better now than when I was healthy.\u2019 So I said \u2018So this is a totally normal offseason for you, no changes?\u2019 and he said \u2018Yes.\u2019 [\u2026] He\u2019s done a ton and thrown a ton. It\u2019s a normal offseason for him. That\u2019s a significant change there.\u201d AA went on to clarify later on that Holmes is, in fact, being treated as \u201cfully healthy\u201d<\/a> at this moment, so there\u2019s that.<\/p>\n

AA also proceeded to go into detail about the rest of the rotation. \u201cReynaldo L\u00f3pez, same thing. You just don\u2019t know until you get later into the Winter,\u201d said AA. \u201cSchwellenbach is continuing to build up but he\u2019s completely pain free. I saw him maybe a week or two ago he\u2019s feeling really good too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you start looking at it on paper right now, we\u2019re in pretty good shape with what I think will be our top four in Reynaldo, Strider, [Chris] Sale and Schwellenbach,\u201d said AA when he was asked about how he felt about the current status of the rotation.<\/p>\n

He had a lot more to say about the tail end of the rotation. \u201cThen you\u2019ve got those guys in the fifth spot: [Hurston] Walrdep obviously did a phenomenal job and he has options left. [Bryce] Elder is out of options but the month September was phenomenal [for Bryce]. The velocity was up and overall, I\u2019d say he had a nice year for us but he really looked good in September. We saw what Grant did when he\u2019s totally healthy. We like having guys like that and having those options.\u201d For what it\u2019s worth, Elder did put up a 3.13 ERA (74 ERA-) and a 3.14 FIP (78 FIP-) and while that\u2019s a pretty short sample size, it was clearly enough to catch the eye of the President\/GM of this particular ball club.<\/p>\n

\"ATLANTA,<\/a><\/p>\n

ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 24: Bryce Elder #55 of the Atlanta Braves delivers a pitch during the MLB game between the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves on September 24, 2025 at TRUIST Park in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Jeff Robinson\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

AA still wasn\u2019t done discussing the internal rotation options and kept on going. \u201cObviously there\u2019s other guys like Joey Wentz who did a nice job and [Jos\u00e9] Suarez made a spot start. Those guys are out of options. That doesn\u2019t mean that if we can add what we would feel like is an impact starter that we wouldn\u2019t do that,\u201d said AA as he continued to reiterate that the Braves are keeping their options open when it comes to the rotation. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone down the road on some of those conversations. Obviously we haven\u2019t gotten anything done but we have had conversations so we\u2019re not ruling it out. On paper, it\u2019s a pretty good group but we\u2019re trying to make sure we\u2019re able to plan from a health standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last bit of information concerning Braves pitchers came in the form of an update on AJ Smith-Shawver from Alex Anthopoulos. \u201c[AJ Smith-Shawver] is doing well. He\u2019s on track rehabbing. I think the 12 month mark will be mid-June, right around there. I think those injuries are 12-13 months,\u201d said AA. \u201cYou don\u2019t see too many guys come back at the 12-month right now. I think the All-Star Break will be a good kind of barometer where you see how he goes. We\u2019re still far off but he\u2019s done well, no problems at all.<\/p>\n

Speaking of injury reports (and hoo boy, there were plenty to talk about both during the 2025 regular season and beyond), AA also gave updates on Sean Murphy and Austin Riley. Both updates were positive, so there\u2019s that.\u201c[When it comes to] Sean Murphy, really, the four-month mark [on from his injury] will be when we really have a handle. That\u2019ll be the middle of January,\u201d said AA when asked about his starting catcher. \u201cHe\u2019s doing well [\u2026] Even the doctors had told us that there are going to be moments where you feel great and ready to go but you want to make sure that everything heals correctly. The four-month mark is when we\u2019ll have a much better idea in mid-to-late January.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ATLANTA,<\/a><\/p>\n

ATLANTA, GA – MAY 15: AJ Smith-Shawver #32 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Truist Park on May 15, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr.\/Atlanta Braves\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

AA didn\u2019t have a lot to say about Austin Riley\u2019s progress but the news was positive enough to where Anthopoulos was able to just get to the point and be done with it \u201cAustin Riley is doing well. He\u2019s going to be ready for spring, so no concerns,\u201d confirmed AA.<\/p>\n

So while you could probably include \u2018shortstop\u2019 and other areas of concern in the category of \u2018a lot of areas where we need to improve,\u2019 there wasn\u2019t a lot of talk about that position or any other position outside of starting pitching, so that could very well be where the Braves feel like they could have their best chance of improving the roster for now. For the time being, all we can do is wait and see what happens as we\u2019ll hopefully continue to see AA and Atlanta\u2019s front office continue to improve the squad as this busy portion of the offseason kicks off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Winter Meetings have (un-)officially gotten started, as all of baseball\u2019s higher-ups and luminaries have descended upon Orlando,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":432150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[67098,1266,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-432149","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-atlanta-braves-news","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115681207261697260","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}