Atlanta

Braves

De Los Santos was non-tendered by the White Sox at the end of November. The 28-year-old pitched well after being claimed off waivers from the Yankees with a 3.63 ERA over 17 1/3 innings after he struggled with New York to a 14.21 ERA after being traded from the Padres at the deadline. He’ll compete for a spot in the Atlanta bullpen, but will have to be added to the 40-man roster in order to pitch for the team when the season begins.

Daniel was booted off the 40-man roster after the Angels acquired Chuckie Robinson from the White Sox. The 27-year-old struggled for most of 2024, but showed some flashes during the 2023 campaign. Atlanta will hope to find that version in 2025, but fantasy managers obviously shouldn’t bet on it.

Weems, 32, joins on with Atlanta after spending the 2024 season with the Nationals. The southpaw will compete for one of the final spots in the Atlanta bullpen, but more likely profiles as roster depth.

It’s a non-guaranteed deal, so De La Cruz will still have to make the team. The addition of a righty probably doesn’t take the Braves out of the market for a lefty outfielder to help fill in for Ronald Acuña Jr. and maybe supplant Jarred Kelenic in time. De La Cruz’s stock plummeted after he hit just .200/.220/.294 as a trade-deadline acquisition in Pittsburgh. He’s a poor defender in the outfield corners with a career 90 OPS+, so he’s very much in danger of falling out of the league.

Suero, 33, made just one appearance at the big league level in 2024, allowing a hit and ultimately a run to the only batter that he faced in a loss against the Royals. He was terrific at Triple-A Sugar Land though, posting a 2.66 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a 71/33 K/BB ratio over 67 2/3 innings of work. He makes for a very nice bullpen depth addition for the Braves.

The 41-year-old is still weighing whether or not he wants to return in 2025, but he is leaning towards coming back and might have to find another team. O’Brien mentioned that “Morton would strongly prefer to pitch for a team that has its spring training camp within commuting distance of his wife and kids and their home in Bradenton, Fla.” That means he would hope to latch on with the Pirates, Orioles, Rays, Phillies, or Yankees if things don’t come together with the Braves.

Cairo is considered a quality defensive shortstop who hit just .240 at the Double- and Triple-A levels, but he did get on at a .354 clip while stealing 30 bases. He’ll get a chance to earn the backup middle-infield job with a good showing in spring training.

Capel, 27, is thought of as a quad-A player, but he’s experienced success in his brief major league stints, hitting .278/.359/.398 in 153 plate appearances. He’s probably not going to be on the Braves’ Opening Day roster, but he’s a decent enough corner outfield stopgap if needed.

Anthopoulos noted that the club has already had discussions with free agent outfielders, starting pitchers and relief pitchers and they continue to engage on the trade front as well as they explore all available options. Retaining their own, left-hander Max Fried, seems like one move that the Braves would love to make though they’re expected to face stiff competition for his services on the open market.

No word yet on the financials of the deal, but it’s believed to be a non-guaranteed split contract. The 27-year-old hurler looked sharp in eight appearances with the Guardians in 2024, posting a 2.25 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and an 8/5 K/BB ratio across eight innings. He’ll add another weapon to the Braves’ middle relief corps.