The MLB offseason hasn’t fully taken off yet, but that’s not due to a lack of activity on the Braves’ end. They’ve been haggling on a daily basis, and the team already looks drastically different than it did last season.
The bullpen has been the focus of the most significant moves. Not long after the season finished, Joe Jimenez and Pierce Johnson were re-signed. The Braves then signed hard-throwing right-hander Reynaldo Lopez to a three-year contract. They recently signed Penn Murfee and Jackson Stephens to one-year, non-guaranteed contracts.
The depth is the one thing that first stands out. With players like Tyler Matzek, Dylan Lee, and Huascar Ynoa expected to return healthy in 2024, the Braves will be in good shape deepest relief core they’ve had in years. That’s a huge advantage over the course of a 162+ game season, one the Braves did not benefit from in 2023.
One guy that we know will not be back for 2024 is Ben Heller, as the right-hander has inked a minor-league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
This offseason, the Braves are bidding farewell to several members of their staff, none more so than former third base coach Ron Washington.
The 71-year-old is suddenly a manager again, having been hired by the Los Angeles Angels to guide them through what is sure to be turbulent waters following the free-agent departure of Shohei Ohtani. The Angels haven’t made the playoffs since 2014, are on the verge of losing arguably the finest player in baseball history, and have one of the league’s worst farm systems. Nothing in Washington’s new home will be simple, but if anyone is prepared for what’s ahead, it’s the man who’s been around professional baseball for nearly 50 years.
Washington was critical to the Braves’ success, guiding them to the World Series in 2021 and six consecutive NL East division titles. Every player who has gone through the organisation understands how important he has been to Atlanta’s success. Nobody will be able to match what he brought to the field on a daily basis, but Washington understands that what he taught the current core of Braves players will go on.
“OK, I’m gone, but the winner in those guys is still there,” Ron Washington told The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Justin Toscano. “That’s why you teach and assist people in becoming self-sufficient, and you never stop teaching them in order for them to become self-sufficient.” “The umbilical cord has been severed.”
Washington’s departure will be a bitter pill for all of Braves Country to swallow. He genuinely is one of a kind, and his influence will be felt by every player who came up through the organisation while he was on Brian Snitker’s staff. There isn’t a single player in the Braves’ locker room who can’t recall a time when Washington changed their life for the better, and the players in Los Angeles will soon be able to say the same thing.
The Angels hired the perfect guy to navigate them through this difficult time, and while he’ll be missed dearly in Braves Country, everyone should be happy Ron Washington is finally getting another opportunity to be the top dog in the clubhouse again.
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