What to make of the Braves' slow offseason so far, plus more MLB notes

The Atlanta Braves began their offseason with a series of cost-cutting moves, from trading Jorge Soler and declining Travis dArnaud s option to restructuring the contracts of Reynaldo Lopez and Aaron Bummer and non-tendering Ramon Laureano and Griffin Canning .

President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos goal was was to create payroll flexibility, knowing ace right-hander Spencer Strider and star right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr.

would open the season on the injured list and setup man Joe Jimenez would likely be out for most of the year.

Yet to this point, the normally aggressive Anthopoulos has done pretty much nothing, other than sign right-hander Connor Gillispie and outfielders Bryan De La Cruz and Carlos D.

Rodriguez to non-guaranteed contracts.

Advertisement What gives? For one thing, spring training is more than a month away.

The Braves still are in the market for an outfielder, a high-leverage reliever and a starter good enough to make a postseason rotation.

But the other part of this, according to sources briefed on the clubs thinking, is that Strider and Acuna could return sooner rather than later.

Strider, who underwent season-ending surgery April 12 to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, is expected to fully participate in spring training.

His procedure included the insertion of an internal brace, which can accelerate a pitchers return from a UCL repair.

Anthopoulos acknowledged in November that neither Strider nor Acuna would be ready for Opening Day.

But barring setbacks, Strider might miss only a month or so.

Without Strider and departed free agents Max Fried and Charlie Morton , the Braves likely would open the season with a rotation of Chris Sale , Lopez, Spencer Schwellenbach , Grant Holmes and Ian Anderson .

They are quite high on Holmes potential as a starter.

Anderson, coming off Tommy John surgery in April 2023, was a key performer during the Braves run to the 2021 World Series title, and initially would only be asked to hold down a fifth starters role.

The outlook for Acuna, at least at this point, is similar to Striders.

When Acuna underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee in 2021, he returned in a little over nine months.

The same timeline in his recovery from a torn ACL in his left knee would put him on target to start playing again in mid-March.

But the Braves want to go at a slower pace this time, knowing Acuna perhaps came back too quickly in 22.

A return by Acuna say, at the end of April, would give him six additional weeks to recover.

The Braves clearly would need another outfielder in the interim, but that player likely would be reduced to a backup role once Acuna was activated.

Few players at this stage of the offseason are jumping at such roles.

Advertisement The Braves are within $24 million of the $241 million luxury-tax threshold.

Anthopoulos said in December that the threshold would not serve as a barrier to the team making moves, but the next few weeks should be telling.

The Braves have done background work on reliever Tanner Scott, among other free agents.

It seems doubtful their offseason is over.

Angels lurking for free agents? Not that it would necessarily be smart, but the Los Angeles Angels are well-positioned to sign a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer, maybe even two.

The Angels hold the No.

2 pick in the draft.

If they signed a qualified free agent, they would lose their second-highest selection, which is likely to be No.

47, and $500,000 from their international bonus pool.

The only 47th pick in the last 25 years to compile more than 5 career bWAR is Matt Olson , who is at 32.8.

The signing of a second qualified free agent would cost the Angels their third-highest selection, likely to be No.

81, and another $500,000 in international bonus space.

But the Angels gained an additional third-round selection, likely to be No.

107, after failing to sign the No.

81 overall pick last year, left-hander Ryan Prager.

The remaining qualified free agents are first baseman Pete Alonso, third baseman Alex Bregman, right-hander Nick Pivetta and outfielder Anthony Santander.

Any of them would improve an Angels team that finished last season with a franchise-record 99 losses.

But would any actually lift the club into contention? One of the hitters might in a watered-down American League, particularly if big if Mike Trout is healthy.

The Angels already have bolstered their offense by adding Soler, dArnaud and Kevin Newman .

The addition of say, the switch-hitting Santander, would make the lineup that much deeper, enabling the Angels to bat their younger hitters lower in the order.

Advertisement Pivetta, meanwhile, could join a rotation that already includes Yusei Kikuchi , Jose Soriano , Tyler Anderson , Kyle Hendricks and Reid Detmers .

The Angels, however, might prefer free agents who are not subject to draft-pick compensation.

Righty Jack Flaherty, a southern California native, could be one, though he would be more expensive than Pivetta.

Outfielder Jurickson Profar, who like Santander is a switch hitter, could be another.

Price will dictate whether the Angels move forward on any remaining free agents.

The teams deals to this point three years, $63 million for Kikuchi; two years, $12 million for dArnaud; one year, $2.75 million for Newman; and one year, $2.5 million for Hendricks seemingly were reasonable.

So was the trade for Soler, which amounted to a net addition of about $22 million over two years when factoring in the subtraction of the pitcher who went to the Braves, Canning.

Angels owner Arte Moreno can be unpredictable.

Given his teams draft positions, the free-agent opportunities available and the state of the AL, it would not be surprising to see him strike.

Only one way to go for Rays offense Why havent the Tampa Bay Rays traded first baseman Yandy Diaz and/or second baseman Brandon Lowe ? Well, they already cleared payroll by moving 10 players since July, including starting pitchers Zach Eflin , Aaron Civale and Jeffrey Springs , outfielder Randy Arozarena , third baseman Isaac Paredes and reliever Jason Adam .

And its not like they can afford to part with additional offense.

Only the Chicago White Sox scored fewer runs than the Rays last season.

Tampa Bays decrease in runs per game from 2023 was the third largest dropoff of the live-ball area, which began in 1920.

According to STATS Perform, only the 1930-31 Pittsburgh Pirates (down 1.69 runs per game) and 1930-31 Philadelphia Phillies (1.64) fell off worse than the Rays (1.58).

The Rays figure their offense is bound to get better, if only because it cant get much worse.

The teams .212 batting average with runners in scoring position last season was the lowest in the majors.

Club officials are counting on infielder Junior Caminero and outfielder Johnny DeLuca to take advantage of greater playing time, and outfielder Josh Lowe and third baseman Christopher Morel to bounce back from subpar seasons.

The Rays forced relocation from Tropicana Field to the New York Yankees spring training facility in Tampa will put them in a better hitters park.

The flip side is that the Rays pitching likely will suffer, and the expected rain delays and postponements while playing outdoors in the Florida summer will further disrupt the staff.

Advertisement Pitching, though, should be the Rays strength.

Zack Littell , who has a 3.56 ERA in 43 starts the past two seasons, currently projects as the teams No.

6 starter behind Shane McClanahan , Ryan Pepiot , Taj Bradley , Drew Rasmussen and Shane Baz .

The bullpen became cheaper and better last season with the emergence of relievers such as Kevin Kelly , Manuel Rodriguez , Mason Montgomery and Edwin Uceta .

If the Rays falter, they can always pivot again at the deadline, making Diaz, Lowe and closer Pete Fairbanks available, among others.

But first, they want to see if even under trying circumstances they can return to contention.

Mariners Castillo: Still in demand? Right-hander Luis Castillo was a star attraction at the 2022 trade deadline, and the Seattle Mariners scored a coup when they acquired him from the Cincinnati Reds for four prospects.

Two-and-a-half years later, Castillos trade value has diminished, in part because he is not quite the pitcher he was in 22 and in part because he is owed $68.25 million over the next three years.

The Mariners are discussing Castillo in trades with the idea of acquiring major-league talent or close to it while clearing the rest of the contract extension they awarded him in September 2022.

Here are the problems: Castillos average fastball velocity declined from 97 mph in 2022 to 96.1 in 23 to 95.6 in 2024.

His strikeout rate dropped from 27.3 in 23 to 24.3 percent last season.

He has been a far better pitcher at home (2.89 ERA) than on the road (4.06) since joining Seattle.

Castillos $22.75 million salaries in each of the next three seasons hardly seem excessive at a time when free agents such as the oft-injured Alex Cobb and 41-year-old Morton are commanding $15 million on one-year deals.

On the other hand, Castillos contract includes a conditional option that would enable his team to retain him for $5 million in 2028 if he is on the injured list from 2025 to 27 for more than 130 consecutive days due to an operation stemming from a UCL surgery.

The mere fact that the Mariners included that clause in Castillos extension is additional cause for concern.

(Top photo of Alex Anthopoulos: Matthew Grimes Jr.

/ Atlanta Braves / Getty Images).

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