“No Other Choice”: Why Braves Must “Overpay” for Bo Bichette and “Steal” Kyle Tucker to Fix 2025’s Failures.vc
(ATLANTA) — The 2025 season was, to put it mildly, a “dumpster fire.” A lack of lineup consistency and glaring depth issues in the bullpen and rotation were brutally exposed.
Now, the Atlanta Braves front office has “no other choice.” They must make a series of drastic, franchise-altering moves to rejoin the World Series conversation.
Exercising the team options for Ozzie Albies and Chris Sale was a start, but it’s not enough. Here is the three-step offseason plan that would push Atlanta back to the top.
1. Pay the Price: Sign Bo Bichette
The shortstop position has haunted the Braves for three seasons. The “bargain aisle” approach has failed. It’s time to pay.
Yes, the team will have to “overpay” for Bo Bichette, the only great starting shortstop poised to hit free agency. But with a bare market and “zero actual answers” on the current roster (Nick Allen is a defensive glove, not a bat), Atlanta has backed itself into a corner.
This is the “long-term answer.”
Bichette isn’t just a fix; he’s a transformation. He instantly solves lineup concerns, boasts a career .294 average, and provides productive power. This is the “tone-setting” move that energizes a “frustratingly flat” clubhouse and proves the team is serious.
2. Stabilize the ‘Pen: Move Reynaldo Lopez
The best path forward for Atlanta’s pitching concerns is to “steal” a weapon from their own rotation. Reynaldo Lopez must slide back into the bullpen.
Last season’s rough start was defined by unreliable relief options. Moving the injury-prone Lopez back to a high-leverage bullpen role helps stabilize a unit that is losing Raisel Iglesias and Pierce Johnson to free agency.
This move solidifies the rotation with Sale, Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Hurston Waldrep—more than enough stability to justify the switch—while allowing the front office to aggressively “restock” the late innings.
3. Chase the “Behemoth”: Sign Kyle Tucker
This is the “stretch.” Signing both Bichette and Kyle Tucker with a payroll already approaching $200 million is difficult, but this is an analysis of what they should do, not what they will do.
The problem is simple: The Braves need two impact hitters.
Signing both superstars makes Atlanta an immediate “World Series favorite” and perhaps the only NL team with the lineup and rotation to “go toe-to-toe with the behemoth that is the Dodgers roster.”
Braves fans would likely settle for one. Bichette makes the most sense. But adding Tucker provides a platoon DH option and protects Ronald Acuña Jr. from the grind of playing the field. The only question is whether ownership will finally “spend top dollar to chase down Los Angeles.”
