MLB Writer Credits Braves For Strong Offseason

The Atlanta Braves had a disappointing 2025 season, but they’ve made multiple key moves this offseason that should have them right back in the playoff hunt in 2026.

Atlanta’s key additions have included signing reliever Robert Suarez and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, along with re-signing shortstop Ha-Seong Kim and several other familiar faces.

Atlanta’s low-key stellar offseason inspired Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer to rate the Braves’ work this winter among the five best in Major League Baseball.

“Four of the Braves’ six free-agent signings have been re-signings, so what they have is not so much a whole new look as a slightly different look,” Rymer wrote. “Even so, let’s give the Suarez signing its due credit. He was an All-Star in each of the last two seasons, ultimately saving 76 games with a 2.87 ERA. He and (Raisel) Iglesias should lock down plenty of leads, which wasn’t always so simple as Atlanta’s bullpen finished 19th in ERA last season.”

“The Yastrzemski signing is more of a sneaky-good deal, but its impact should be felt all the same,” Rymer added. “The short version is that he’s a good hitter in a position that had become known for bad offensive outcomes over the last two years. Retaining Kim likewise has a chance to be one of the Braves’ best moves, though that will depend on him turning the clock back a couple years. At best, he can still be the 5-WAR player he was for San Diego in 2022 and 2023.”

The Braves already have a core of established stars like Ronald Acuña Jr. They hired a new manager in Walt Weiss, who will be expected to have Atlanta in the postseason yearly, as is tradition for this franchise.