The Atlanta Braves clearly didn't make as deep of a playoff run as they hoped to make this season.
Atlanta entered the 2024 season with high hopes. The Braves were the best regular-season team in baseball in 2023. Atlanta was upset in the playoffs and hoped to get right back on track in 2024. Injuries robbed the club of that.
The Braves still made the playoffs, but they lost a significant amount of firepower. The 2025 season should be much better, though. Most of the Braves' core is under contract, and if Atlanta is healthier next year, it should be among the best teams in the National League again.
Atlanta still should look to add this winter in free agency, and FanSided's Wynston Wilcox called two-time All-Star Tim Anderson a top option for the Braves in free agency to "win the 2025 World Series."
"This is one of those low-risk, high-reward situations," Wilcox said. "The Braves need some offensive help from the shortstop with Orlando Arcia not batting well. And Anderson’s 2024 season doesn’t necessarily say he’s going to be that player.
"But the Braves can add a low-cost option that a player that has had some success during their career. The biggest question mark is, again, durability. Anderson could provide that offense from the shortstop position, but it also may not be that bad of a move if he doesn’t."
Atlanta could contend in 2025 without a free-agent addition at shortstop. Adding Anderson could help, but only if he plays like he did back in 2022. He was an All-Star in 2021 and 2022 and was one of the best shortstops in the American League from 2017 through 2022.
He is just 31 years old, so there is hope that he has plenty more in the tank, but it may be a bold take to say that he would put the Braves over the top unless he could return to his All-Star form.
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