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Talking Chop

https://www.talkingchop.com/ | 590 entries published

Your one stop shop for everything Atlanta Braves

Latest Entries

Braves News: Danny Young signed, Spencer Strider review, and more

The Atlanta Braves made a minor move (literally) on Tuesday morning, signing left-hander Danny Young to a one-year, split deal.  The 31-year-old was previously with the New York Mets, who recently outrighted him, giving Atlanta the opportunity to pick him up. He did undergo Tommy John surgery in May, so he won’t be on the […]

MLB

2 months ago | 1 read

2025 Atlanta Braves Prospect Reviews: Kade Woods

How Acquired Kade was the 307th pick I the 2025 MLB Draft and was signed for $2,500.What Were Expectations?Due to a lengthy injury history, there were absolutely no expectations for Kade upon signing for the Braves. After pitching in 17 games his freshman year at Alabama, the next two years for Kade were tough as […]

2 months ago | 4 reads

December 2 open thread

I hope everybody’s staying warm (if you’re somewhere where the temperature is dipping and the weather is ugly outside) and having a good evening tonight. Enjoy the open thread, y’all. Here’s a random clip:

2 months ago | 4 reads

2025 Atlanta Braves Prospect Reviews: Rolddy Munoz

How Acquired The Braves signed Rolddy Munoz in the same 2017-18 international free agent class as his twin brother Roddery, giving him a $20k signing bonus – or $10k less than his brother.What Were Expectations? After spending the 2024 year mostly in Double-A, after initially being in High-A, the expectation for Munoz this year was […]

2 months ago | 0 reads

Atlanta Braves 2025 Prospect Reviews: Mason Guerra

How Acquired The Braves took Mason Guerra in the 14th round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Oregon State. He had previously been in the mix for a potential first round pick as a middle infielder in his high school days, but he came into the pros as a first baseman whose bat hadn’t […]

MLB

2 months ago | 2 reads

2025 Atlanta Braves Prospect Reviews: Cooper McMurray

How Acquired Cooper was an undrafted free agent signed by the Braves following the 2025 MLB Draft. What Were Expectations?After a strong collegiate career, Cooper went undrafted so while the potential is there, the expectations were not. 2025 Results In his final year at Auburn, Cooper appeared in 61 games and hit a robust .326/.431/.588 […]

2 months ago | 2 reads

2025 Atlanta Braves Player Review: Spencer Strider

Earlier this year, April 16 to be specific, Spencer Strider made a long-awaited return to the mound after missing nearly the entirety of the 2024 season due to surgery on his elbow. Considering how poor of a start the Braves got off to in 2025, his return was truly a sight for sore eyes and […]

MLB

2 months ago | 2 reads

Braves add LHP Danny Young on split deal

Things the Braves love: 1) reunions; 2) relievers with roster flexibility. On Tuesday morning, the Braves were able to, if not outright kill two birds with one stone, at least lightly wound them, or something. Let’s get the main thing out of the way, first: Danny Young had Tommy John Surgery in May, so this […]

2 months ago | 2 reads

Which reliever will have the best MLB season in 2026?

Trying to forecast relievers is a nightmare. That’s not stopping MLB teams from once again giving them substantial outlays of moolah so far this offseason. So, who’s going to be the pinnacle of that particular craft in 2026? Historically, Cade Smith has taken the fWAR-for-relievers crown in each of the last two seasons, by a […]

MLB

2 months ago | 3 reads

Braves News: NL East, ZIPs Braves Outlook, More

As the Winter Meetings are just days away, the closer market in free agency continues to be red hot. The Mets signed former Brewers and Yankees closer Devin Williams to a 3 year deal on Monday. So the three NL East Powers now have Jhoan Duran, Rasiel Iglesias, and Williams as their closers. It will […]

2 months ago | 5 reads

This Day in Braves History: Braves sign Chipper Jones to a 3-year extension

Braves Franchise History  1942 – The Boston Braves acquire shortstop Eddie Joost and pitcher Nate Andrews from the Reds in exchange for shortstop Eddie Miller. 2005 – The Atlanta Braves agree to terms with third baseman Chipper Jones on a three-year contract. MLB History  1916 – The National Commission orders that injured players shall receive […]

2 months ago | 2 reads

December 1 open thread

So, we’re just six days away from the Winter Meetings kicking off for this year. Do y’all envision anything big happening between now and then? Or do you think that we’re going to see all of the action happen during or after the Winter Meetings? Let us know what you think! Here’s a random clip […]

MLB

2 months ago | 1 read

2025 Atlanta Braves Prospect Reviews: Jaylen Paden

How Acquired Jaylen was an undrafted free agent signed by the Braves following the 2025 MLB draft. What Were Expectations? Thanks to his injury history, Jaylen came in without any expectations. He appeared in 15 games for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets where he had a 10.6 K/9 rate, but sometimes struggled with his command […]

2 months ago | 1 read

2025 Atlanta Braves Prospect Reviews: Ethan Workinger

How Acquired Ethan Workinger was a non-drafted free agent signed by the Braves in 2020. What Were Expectations? After posting a .561 OPS for Double-A Mississippi in 2024, there were not any expectations for Ethan heading into the 2025 season.2025 Results Ethan was a key starter for the Columbus Clingstones, appearing in 120 games. He […]

2 months ago | 1 read

No huge surprises in ZiPS’ 2026 outlook for the Braves

Thinking about the 2026 Braves from a forecasting perspective is a pretty fraught exercise. You could say, “Hasn’t it generally been a fraught exercise?” But, honestly, not really! The 2018 Braves were forecasted to be largely irrelevant. They surprised everyone and pulled off a once-in-a-generation-for-a-franchise turnaround. Did that carry over into 2019? Well, not really […]

2 months ago | 1 read

2025 Atlanta Braves Player Review: Aaron Bummer

Generally-speaking, I’m not a huge fan of reliever extensions and long-term contracts, unless you’re one of the tippy-top relievers in the game. They’re too volatile, and their lifespans in the game are too short. but sometimes, you get a super cheap one that you can’t pass up, and the Chicago White Sox got one of […]

2 months ago | 3 reads

Which team is going to sign Kyle Tucker?

Question’s in the title, pretty much. Kyle Tucker is very good — he’s had five consecutive seasons between 4 and 5 fWAR, and he could’ve possibly cleared 5 in three of those seasons if not for some xwOBA underperformance there. He’s also the relatively rare star that has hit free agency before turning 30, which […]

2 months ago | 3 reads

This Day in Braves History: Braves sign Billy Wagner to a one-year, $7 million deal

Braves Franchise History  1912 – Boston Braves owner James Gaffney purchases the Allston Golf Club on Commonwealth Avenue with a plan to construct a ballpark there. Groundbreaking will take place on March 20, 1915. 1998 – Free agent outfielder Otis Nixon is signed by the Atlanta Braves. The speedster Nixon was a starter for Atlanta […]

2 months ago | 2 reads

Braves News: December Arrives, Winter Meetings, More

While it may seem a bit odd, December typically is one of the most exciting months on the baseball calendar. The Winter Meetings is typically the peak of off-season activity, and we are just a week away from the 2025 MLB Winter Meetings starting. This does not mean that moves will stop until then, but […]

2 months ago | 1 read

Last day of November open thread

Well, here we are. The penultimate month of the year is nearly in the books, and soon we’ll be heading off to December. Personally, I can’t wait for this year to be over, so I’m very much looking forward to the symbolic turning of the calendar page. Meanwhile, the Orioles signed Ryan Helsley for $28 […]

2 months ago | 0 reads

2025 Atlanta Braves Player Review: Pierce Johnson

2025 was the second full season in a Braves uniform for Pierce Johnson and the outcome was pretty similar to how things had gone for him in his first full season, and really his overall tenure since he got traded to the Braves. Usually that’d be enough to stick around for another year — especially […]

2 months ago | 3 reads

This Day in Braves History: Braves trade Tommy Hanson to the Angels

Braves Franchise History 1961 – Braves catcher Joe Torre finishes second in the Rookie of the Year race in the National League to Cubs outfielder Billy Williams.  1970 – The Braves acquire 48-year old knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm from the Cubs in exchange for minor league first baseman Hal Breeden.  1999 – Braves minor leaguer Roger […]

2 months ago | 2 reads

Braves News: Ronald Acuna, Nacho Alvarez, more

Braves News Ronald Acuna is in Venezuela (where things are getting…tense geopolitically) playing baseball, and hit a huge homer, his first of the winter season. We took a look at Nacho Alvarez’ resurgent 2025 season, in which he looked much more like a real major league player, if perhaps only a depth option. MLB News […]

2 months ago | 3 reads

Offseason open thread: November 29

I hope everybody’s continuing to enjoy themselves through this holiday weekend. Here’s the random clip of the evening:

2 months ago | 0 reads