Possible Reunion: Braves Could Reunite With Ramon Laureano in Upcoming Season
The Braves didn’t have too many difficult decisions to make at the recently past non-tender deadline for arbitration-eligible players. However, the one worth discussing surrounded Ramon Laureano, who was a godsend in Atlanta after the Braves picked him up off waivers, hitting .292 with 10 homers and an .832 OPS in 67 games.
Unfortunately, for Laureano, it still wasn’t enough for the Braves to tender him a contract for the 2025 season, making him a free agent, but that doesn’t mean a reunion couldn’t be in the cards later in the offseason. Laureano’s projected arbitration salary for next year sat just north of $6 million. That’s a more than fair price for a player who’s accrued at least 1.0 WAR in every season since he entered the league in 2018, and perhaps Ramon Laureano even gets a figure similar to that from somebody else in free agency. But for several reasons, deciding to non-tender made the most sense for the Braves.
Most notably, much of Atlanta’s roster is locked into long-term contracts. There aren’t many obvious areas where the club can upgrade this offseason, shortstop and the outfield being the only ones. Given shortstop will be incredibly difficult to upgrade due to the lack of available options this winter, making a big splash in the outfield is the most logical solution. While Laureano performed splendidly for the Braves, Anthopoulos can certainly do much better.
Secondly, guys like Laureano are a dime a dozen. There will be a surplus of veteran outfielders available later in the offseason that can provide similar production, maybe even Ramon Laureano himself, and there’s a chance the Braves could even lock him in at a less expensive rate. I wouldn’t totally rule out a reunion in the coming months, but for now, Alex Anthopoulos needs that $6 million in his pocket for other, much bigger, potential moves.
