The Braves won the NL East and defeated the Phillies in the wild card round before falling to the Dodgers in the NLDS.  It was a nice return to form for the Braves after their injury-marred 76-86 season in 2025, but Atlanta will need to fill some roster holes and perhaps address some broader concerns in order to be championship contenders next year.

Guaranteed Contracts

• Austin Riley, 3B: $132MM through 2029 ($20MM club option for 2030)
• Matt Olson, 1B: $66MM through 2029 ($20MM club option for 2030)
• Spencer Strider, SP: $49MM through 2028 (includes $5MM buyout of $22MM club option for 2029)
• Michael Harris II, CF: $46MM through 2030 (includes $5MM buyout of $15MM club option for 2031; Braves also have $20MM club option for 2032 with $5MM buyout)
• Robert Suarez, RP: $32MM through 2028
• Sean Murphy, C: $30MM through 2028 ($15MM club option for 2029)
• Chris Sale, SP: $27MM through 2027 ($30MM club option for 2028)
• Jurickson Profar, LF: $15MM through 2027
• Mike Yastrzemski, OF: $10MM through 2027 ($7MM club option for 2028 with $4MM buyout)
• Reynaldo Lopez, SP/RP: $8MM through 2027

Option Decisions

• Ronald Acuna Jr., OF: $17MM club option for 2027, $10MM buyout (Braves also have $17MM club option for 2028)
• Ozzie Albies, 2B: $7MM club option for 2027

2027 guarantees: $190MM (assuming the Acuna/Albies options are exercised)
Total future commitments: $439MM (assuming the Acuna/Albies options are exercised)

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projected salaries courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

• Dylan Lee (4.150): $4.2MM
• James Karinchak (4.130): $1.1MM
• Joey Wentz (3.166): $900K
• Michael Grove (3.122): $1MM
• Bryce Elder (3.069): $4MM
• Non-tender candidates: Karinchak, Wentz, Grove

Free Agents

• Raisel Iglesias, Tyler Mahle, Martin Perez, Mauricio Dubon, Dominic Smith, Brent Suter, Ha-Seong Kim, Lane Thomas, Kyle Farmer, Joe Jimenez, Luke Williams

Most of Atlanta’s everyday lineup should remain intact.  Drake Baldwin, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Michael Harris II, and Ronald Acuna Jr. are all on track to return to their regular positions in 2027, plus Mike Yastrzemski will probably be part of the corner outfield picture in a platoon capacity.  The Braves are surely going to exercise Acuna’s $17MM option and seem likely to pick up the affordable $7MM sum on Albies despite his third straight middling offensive season.

Acuna was excellent in 2025 after his return from a torn ACL, but the 2026 campaign saw the former NL MVP’s numbers dip to .255/.345/.451 with 20 homers over 469 plate appearances.  Most players would happily take this kind of 120 wRC+ “down year” any day, and Acuna’s production might’ve been better if he weren’t limited to 107 games by a pair of left hamstring strains.  He also battled a sore right knee during the playoffs, which partially explains his lackluster postseason performance.

Even if Acuna replicates this modest season by (his high standards) in 2027, that is still well worth the $7MM difference between his option price and the $10MM buyout, not to mention the remaining club option Atlanta holds on his services for 2028.  There have been a few whispers that the Braves might consider trading Acuna while his value is still so relatively high, but as Acuna’s 2025 production indicates, he still has All-Star level upside even after tears of both ACLs.  Even if Acuna’s health might have to be maintained by a few more DH days in 2027, the Braves would surely prefer that if Acuna is able to return to anything close to peak form, it happens in their uniform.

Albies is a bit of a trickier case.  He has an 89 wRC+ and a .242/.300/.385 slash line over 1785 PA since Opening Day 2024, with this uninspiring offense combining with so-so glovework to give him a total of 3.8 fWAR over the last three seasons.

This recent track record notwithstanding, Albies’ salary is small enough that multiple teams would be interested if the Braves shopped him, and some suitors might feel he’d benefit from a change of scenery.  Albies is slated for free agency next winter so the Braves could be interested in getting something before Albies leaves.  On the flip side, Atlanta might just prefer sticking with a familiar face at second base for one more year, especially given the more glaring hole on the other side of the middle infield picture.