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No great surprises, but a few of the early offseason questions have seemingly been answered. The Braves have three notable club options to make a decision on in the coming weeks with Marcell Ozuna, Travis d’Arnaud and Aaron Bummer. According to general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who met with the media on Friday following the Braves’ exit from the postseason, all three options are expected to be picked up for 2025.
The Braves plan to exercise the options for Ozuna ($16M), Bummer ($7.25M) and d'Arnaud ($8M).— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 4, 2024
The decision to bring back Ozuna in particular was a no-brainer following another fantastic season offensively. Assuming health, you can pencil in Ozuna for another 160 starts as the team’s designated hitter next season. Ozuna will turn 34 later this month so he is teetering on the age cliff for players of his skillset, but there were no indications this past season he was at risk of slowing down.
d’Arnaud will be 36 on opening day and is clearly on the back nine of his career, but he is beloved in the clubhouse and does terrific work with the pitching staff in-between games. d’Arnaud put up a solid 103 wRC+ this past season, although it was just 86 after a terrific month of April. With all the uncertainty around Sean Murphy, who is coming off an abysmal season offensively, it made sense to bring Travis back for one more season. Top prospect Drake Baldwin also awaits.
Some fans may be surprised to see Bummer’s option picked up, but the lefty was quite good for the Braves twith a 3.58 ERA, 2.23 FIP, 2.52 xFIP and 1.1 WAR over 55 innings. Brian Snitker weirdly had zero faith in Bummer in high leverage spots even with fellow lefty AJ Minter missing most of the season, so we’ll see if Bummer’s role changes in 2025.
<img alt="Syndication: The Enquirer" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/H4MqosUbZQamT7vliyAyRRTwMKs=/0x0:4726x3151/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73632085/usa_today_24269310.5.jpg">
Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
No great surprises, but a few of the early offseason questions have seemingly been answered. The Braves have three notable club options to make a decision on in the coming weeks with Marcell Ozuna, Travis d’Arnaud and Aaron Bummer. According to general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who met with the media on Friday following the Braves’ exit from the postseason, all three options are expected to be picked up for 2025.
The Braves plan to exercise the options for Ozuna ($16M), Bummer ($7.25M) and d'Arnaud ($8M).— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 4, 2024
The decision to bring back Ozuna in particular was a no-brainer following another fantastic season offensively. Assuming health, you can pencil in Ozuna for another 160 starts as the team’s designated hitter next season. Ozuna will turn 34 later this month so he is teetering on the age cliff for players of his skillset, but there were no indications this past season he was at risk of slowing down.
d’Arnaud will be 36 on opening day and is clearly on the back nine of his career, but he is beloved in the clubhouse and does terrific work with the pitching staff in-between games. d’Arnaud put up a solid 103 wRC+ this past season, although it was just 86 after a terrific month of April. With all the uncertainty around Sean Murphy, who is coming off an abysmal season offensively, it made sense to bring Travis back for one more season. Top prospect Drake Baldwin also awaits.
Some fans may be surprised to see Bummer’s option picked up, but the lefty was quite good for the Braves twith a 3.58 ERA, 2.23 FIP, 2.52 xFIP and 1.1 WAR over 55 innings. Brian Snitker weirdly had zero faith in Bummer in high leverage spots even with fellow lefty AJ Minter missing most of the season, so we’ll see if Bummer’s role changes in 2025.
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