This week’s mailbag gets into Braves, Padres, and Red Sox offseason possibilities, where Anthony Rizzo and Walker Buehler could land, off-the-wall Reds trade ideas, potential Rangers trade partners, and much more.
Bill asks:
What will Atlanta do this offseason with their shortstop, pitching, catching, and outfield needs?
I don’t think the Braves will do anything significant at catcher; they might be content to use Chadwick Tromp as Sean Murphy‘s backup and see how Drake Baldwin comes along. If they wanted to limit Murphy’s playing time, they would’ve kept Travis d’Arnaud.
In terms of starting pitchers, the Braves have been linked to Walker Buehler, Nick Pivetta, and Nathan Eovaldi so far. We’ll know by Friday whether they tender a contract to Griffin Canning. I don’t love the Pivetta fit, given that he declined a qualifying offer.
12 days ago, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tossed out some of these same names and also speculated on Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, Kevin Gausman, and Shane Bieber. I consider Kikuchi another viable free agent option, as well as Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and a reunion with Charlie Morton. The Braves could make a play for Garrett Crochet, or try to trade for Fedde, Sonny Gray, Zack Littell, Jesus Luzardo, Luis Castillo, or Jeffrey Springs. They could sign Jeff Hoffman as a starter, given how well that strategy worked with Reynaldo Lopez.
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