The offseason is getting ramped up and Atlanta seems to be focused on adding to its rotation. Per Mark Bowman of MLB.com, right-hander Nathan Eovaldi ranks near the top of the club’s offseason wish list.
Eovaldi, 35 in February, just declined his player option with the Rangers. He could have stayed in Texas for 2025 and made a $20MM salary but decided to head to the open market and assess his options. MLBTR recently predicted the veteran could land a guarantee of $44MM on a two-year deal as part of our annual Top 50 Free Agents list.
The righty is arguably the poster child for career success after a second Tommy John surgery. After returning from that operation, he struggled a bit in 2019 but has been quite consistent over the past five years. He has a 3.75 earned run average over those campaigns, striking out 24% of batters faced, limiting walks to a 5.6% rate and getting grounders at a 46.9% clip. His ERA finished between 3.63 and 3.87 in all five of those seasons with his other rate stats holding quite steady as well.
For Atlanta, starting pitching is a sensible target area. They just lost both Max Fried and Charlie Morton to free agency, opening two holes in the starting pitching mix. That leaves them with a core of Chris Sale, Reynaldo López and Spencer Schwellenbach but with question marks behind that threesome.
Spencer Strider will eventually be in the mix but will likely miss at least part of the season after undergoing internal brace surgery in April of last year. Griffin Canning was just acquired in the Jorge Soler deal but he is coming off a rough season in which he posted a 5.19 earned run average and his strikeout rate fell to 17.6% after being at 25.9% the year prior.
Ian Anderson is on the roster but hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2022 due to poor performance and Tommy John surgery. The club also has guys like Huascar Ynoa, AJ Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep, Bryce Elder and a few others, though no one in that group did much to impress in 2024.
Given that rotation picture, pursuing external additions makes plenty of sense, though the budget with naturally be a consideration. RosterResource projects the club for a $215MM payroll next year, just $20MM shy of 2024’s spending.
General manager Alex Anthopoulos has said the payroll will rise but it’s unclear by how much and there have been some recent signs that money could be tight. The aforementioned Soler deal did bring back Canning but was seen mostly as a salary dump. A few days ago, the club reworked the contracts of both López and lefty Aaron Bummer, in both cases shifting a few million bucks from the 2025 ledger to 2026. The club turned down a club option on Travis d’Arnaud even though Anthopoulos had previously suggested they would be picking that up to bring the catcher back for 2025.
The long-term books have plenty on them as well, thanks to the club’s penchant for signing incumbent players to extensions. Each of Strider, López, Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Ronald Acuña Jr., Sean Murphy, Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies are likely to be on the books through 2027, either due to guaranteed contracts or club options.
In addition to the club’s finances, there is also the track record to consider. Though they have been connected to some prominent free agents over the years, that hasn’t been their modus operandi. Per MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the largest guarantee they’ve even given a free agent is the $75.3MM they gave to Melvin Upton Jr. way back in 2012. Ozuna’s $65MM deal is their top free agent deal from more recent seasons. Their largest deal for a free agent starting pitcher was $60MM for Derek Lowe back in 2009 while $18MM for Cole Hamels is the biggest of the past five years.
Taking all that into consideration, Eovaldi is a logical target for the club. He’s been quite effective on the mound but his age and injury history will put a natural cap on his earning power. While pitchers like Fried, Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell and Jack Flaherty could require nine-figure commitments, Eovaldi will be in a different tier of free agency. Though Atlanta seems to have targeted Eovaldi, free agent starters who could command similar contracts include Yusei Kikuchi, Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Nick Martinez, Nick Pivetta, Matthew Boyd, Andrew Heaney, Frankie Montas and others.
But do they LIKE like him?
I don’t knowwwww *runs off giggling*
Breaking Now: sources tell that Nathan eovaldi has a crush on the Atlanta braves
I was hoping to rush in with, ‘Romantically?’, but I’m obviously late to the party.
Please picked him to go there in the contest
As a Rangers fan, I love him but I wouldn’t mind spending $25 million a year somewhere else either
What about the Blue Jays? I’m sure they’ve shown interest in him. Ahahahaha!
Article is code for Braves made him an offer lower than he’s willing to accept but he’s considering it so they threw this out there to see if a higher bidder will come in to secure his services
The Braves organization has quietly become one of the best at working with pitchers.
I just don’t see the Braves paying 22 mil a year for him at his age as mlb trade rumor predicts .. but they might. They paid Morton around 20 at a bit older but I think Morton was a safer bet. But what do I know. I personally think it will take more than 22 mil a year
This doesn’t strike me as a AA move, although I could see this being used as a bit of misdirection.
I think Verlander, Buehler, or Scherzer are more AA type moves. Veteran pitchers that will cost a decent amount, but won’t require long contracts. I think Eovaldi will get 4 years.
He is 6 years younger than Morton. A 2 year 44 million dollar deal for a guy like this feels exactly like the kind of move AA would make. A veteran arm who has had playoff success that settles in as your number 3 starter in the rotation, he’s probably the best arm they would be able to land unless they can pull off a trade.
Okay let’s be honest, who the heck remembered D-Lowe pitching for the Braves? Not me!
I still think Pivetta is most likely to end up in Atlanta, it would be a perfect match …. Braves are great at “fixing” pitchers, and Nick has all the tools as one of the best strikeout pitchers in the game. His BFF Sale is certainly lobbying to sign him.
BTW – Heaney is the poster child for “ignore the ERA and WHIP, results don’t matter …. he’s got great peripherals …. he has high-end strikeout and walk rates …. he’s gonna be a star!!!”
Other than his 72 innings with the Dodgers, he’s been not good to awful throughout his career.
I wish I didn’t remember Lowe pitching for the Braves.
That’s sad it’s the largest FA pitcher signing we’ve had in 15 years….When BJ Upton was signed I’ll never forget seeing the best comment ever “Man, that’s one expensive BJ” lol
I remember they shot for AJ Burnett and ended with Down Lowe. Wren!
I forgot about them chasing Burnett that offseason. If I recall, they didn’t want to match what he ended up getting, which was in the 80s, so instead decided to set $60m on fire on Lowe.
Seems like a natural fit to replace Morton as the staff’s “grizzled veteran”
At today’s rates. So $25 million every year for a while.
I’m a big Eovaldi fan from his time in Boston. He’s a textbook “mercenary,” but I love his fire and dedication to his team and the game. I hope he reels in a great contract with a competitive team and plays at a high level for our entertainment at least another 4-5 years.
Sale’s already got that gig…..and grizzled look too.
Nah. He was backfilling for Fried prior to departure.
What is great….in the future…is to NOT have these show up! Like so n so interested in Juan Soto….EVERYONE would be there…in interest level! Cubs interested in a pitcher with between 2 and 4 tommy john surgeries! (Haven’t had even one yet? Sorry, not interested)
uhhh, what?
Walker Buehler is a much more likely target for the Braves
All I can hear is Mr. Waturi asking over and over, “Harry, I know he can GET the job, but can he DO the job?!?”
Rough season for Braves on the IL, do they add an Evoldi to next year’s list of, “if onlys”?
2/44M with an option for a 3rd year.
Vesting option. 324 innings total.
Id like Boyd or Corbin burnes for the Braves. As much as Freid should be back, he’s oft injured. Flaherty is too up one game, down the next. Braves really need to figure if ynoa or Anderson can start and be in the rotation next year.
I’m still waiting for a team to show interest in me. I’d be willing to play for actual minimum wage not league minimum.