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Talking Chop

https://www.talkingchop.com/ | 343 entries published

Your one stop shop for everything Atlanta Braves

Latest Entries

Braves News: Rule 5 protection deadline, Rafael Montero review, and more

Tuesday marked a deadline-heavy day for not just the Atlanta Braves, but all of Major League Baseball. In addition to the start of the Winter Meetings and the Qualifying Offer deadline, Tuesday also marked the deadline for clubs to add any eligible players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. […]

26 days ago | 0 reads

Braves make no changes to 40-man roster ahead of Rule 5 Draft protection deadline

Today was an important day on the baseball offseason calendar, as 6:00 p.m. ET today marked the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster in order to protect them from selection in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. Plenty of teams got busy with making moves and additions to their 40-man roster but […]

27 days ago | 1 read

2025 Atlanta Braves prospect review: Eddys Leonard

How was he acquired? Signed as a minor league free agent on March 29, 2025, Leonard previously had stops with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers. He has yet to make his MLB debut. What were the 2025 expectations? As he was on a minor league deal, the expectations were for Leonard to serve […]

27 days ago | 0 reads

2025 Atlanta Braves prospect review: Nick Montgomery

How was he acquired? Drafted out of Cypress High School (Ca.) by the Braves in the fifth round of the 2024 draft, Montgomery was given a signing bonus of $997,500 to forego his commitment to Arizona State University and begin his professional career. What were the 2025 expectations? Montgomery did not make his professional debut […]

27 days ago | 1 read

2025 Atlanta Braves Player Review: Rafael Montero

Rafael Montero was actually somewhat familiar with pitching in Truist Park. After all, he was part of the 2021 American League Champion Houston Astros squad who squared off against the eventual 2021 World Series Champions Atlanta Braves in that year’s World Series. Four years later, Montero found himself in Truist Park as part of the […]

27 days ago | 1 read

Will anyone accept the Qualifying Offer today?

After yesterday’s debacle (and then the Ohtani one last week), I’m gonna try to do this without needing a mid-day edit to the post. Probably won’t succeed, but them’s the breaks. Today is (not non-tender day…) accept/reject Qualifying Offer day. 13 players were tagged with the QO a couple of weeks ago, which you can […]

27 days ago | 0 reads

This Day in Braves History: Atlanta trades Fred McGriff to Rays

Braves Franchise History  1958 – Milwaukee Braves second baseman Red Schoendienst is diagnosed as having tuberculosis and will appear in just five games in 1959. 1997 – The Braves trade Fred McGriff to the expansion Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for a player to be named later. 2002 – The Florida Marlins send recently-acquired pitcher […]

27 days ago | 1 read

Braves News: 2026 Hall of Fame Ballot, MLB Free Agency, More

The big announcement on Monday was the 2026 MLB Hall of Fame Ballot. Of course, Andruw Jones was a part of the group, which also included 12 first time players. Many of these players are also former Braves. While the group has some name power for sure, there certainly is plenty of opportunity for Andruw […]

27 days ago | 1 read

Offseason open thread: November 17

This could be another fun offseason for us Braves fans when it comes to the Hall of Fame. Although Dale Murphy and Andruw Jones aren’t exactly easy choices for Cooperstown (at least outside of this particular corner of the internet), this could end up being a very exciting winter if both of them end of […]

28 days ago | 1 read

2025 Atlanta Braves prospect review: Dixon Williams

How was he acquired? A product of East Carolina University, Williams was chosen by Atlanta with a compensatory pick after the 4th round, using the 136th overall pick to take the middle infielder. Williams received a signing bonus of $497,500 — which was slightly underslot for the draft position. What were the 2025 expectations? Like […]

28 days ago | 0 reads

2025 Atlanta Braves prospect review: Ambioris Tavarez

How was he acquired? Signed out of the Dominican Republic as part of the 2020-2021 international signing period, Tavarez received $1.5 million from the Braves to join the organization. What were the 2025 expectations? It feels as though Ambioris Tavarez has been a part of the organization for at least a decade — or at […]

28 days ago | 0 reads

2025 Atlanta Braves Player Review: Dane Dunning

I saw Dane Dunning pitch in the minors in the pre-COVID times. He was facing a decent Southern League lineup. And they wanted nothing to do with his slider. It was an (untrue) three-outcome pitch: either a pop-up, soft groundout, or a whiff. He looked every bit the first-round pick from 2016. He had a […]

28 days ago | 0 reads

2025 Atlanta Braves Prospect Reviews: E.J. Exposito

How Acquired E.J. was drafted in the 16th round of the 2022 MLB draft out of Long Island University.What Were Expectations? Heading int0 2025 there were not many expectations for E.J. He has been a player that has shown flashes of brilliance, but over the course of a season pretty average numbers. E.J. possesses solid […]

28 days ago | 0 reads

Who will be the best player to be non-tendered this week?

It’s the offseason, so we’ve got a combination of A) set-in-stone deadlines for team to do roster-related things, and B) people complaining that nothing of note is happening on any given day. One of those deadlines is coming up on Friday: the deadline for teams to decide whether they’re going to tender guys without guaranteed […]

28 days ago | 0 reads

This Day in Braves History: Chipper Jones is named N.L. MVP

Braves Franchise History  1982 – Dale Murphy wins the National League MVP Award, becoming the first Braves player to be so honored since Hank Aaron in 1957, when the team played in Milwaukee. Murphy hit .281 with 36 home runs, 109 RBI, 113 runs, and 23 stolen bases. 1989 – Nick Esasky, who became one […]

28 days ago | 0 reads

Braves News: Andruw Jones, Important Dates This Week, More

Without a doubt, things are going rather slow when it comes to the MLB offseason. However, the exciting thing is that as soon as one move happens, a flurry of others could be right behind it. Another factor in getting activity going is the passing of important dates and deadlines that help define the offseason. […]

29 days ago | 0 reads

Offseason open thread: November 16

A slow Saturday has transformed into a slow weekend, as there’s not a lot going on in the baseball world at the moment. Once again, I hope everybody’s having a lovely weekend and enjoying themselves. The floor is yours, now. Random clip:

29 days ago | 0 reads

2025 Atlanta Braves Prospect Reviews: Kendy Richard

How Acquired Kendy Richard was an amateur free agent signed by the Braves in 2024 out of the Dominican Republic. What Were Expectations? Expectations were nearly non-existent for Kendy as he put up solid but not fantastic numbers over in the Dominican Summer League in 2024. As a 20 year old, Kendy appeared in 13 […]

29 days ago | 0 reads

Braves News: Offseason doldrums, player reviews, more

The utterly glacial beginning to the 2025/2026 offseason, as no meaningful major league transactions have been completed yet. It seems like each year the offseason becomes even more painful to experience as a fan, as teams and free agents alike take their sweet time through the offseason market and the trade market follows in suit. […]

29 days ago | 0 reads

2025 Player Reviews: Craig Kimbrel

It was the briefest of returns for franchise icon Craig Kimbrel, whose 2025 pit stop in Atlanta left many people scratching their heads. How acquired The Atlanta Braves signed Kimbrel to a minor league contract in the midst of Spring Training, as he lingered on the market after being released by the Baltimore Orioles prior […]

29 days ago | 0 reads

What if you ran baseball?

Question in the title. If I ran baseball for a year I tell you what I’d consider. Much different penalties for over/underspending I don’t think the owners or the players union or the agents really mind if a team spends way more than the others. What are the players going to do, demand they are […]

29 days ago | 0 reads

This Day in Braves History: Braves acquire Dan Uggla

Braves Franchise History 1962 – Milwaukee Braves general manager John McHale and six former stockholders of the Chicago White Sox buy the team from the Perini Corporation for a reported $6.2 million. Bill Bartholomay will be named chairman of the board.  2002 – In the start of a three team trade, the Florida Marlins acquire […]

29 days ago | 0 reads

Offseason open thread: November 15

As Djourn mentioned in his feed post earlier, there’s not a ton going on across the baseball world at the moment. I’m sure everybody’s watching something though — whether it’s sports or TV — so let us know what’s on your screens this weekend. Here’s a random clip:

30 days ago | 0 reads

2025 Atlanta Braves Prospect Reviews: Logan Braunschweig

How Acquired The Braves drafted speedy outfielder Logan Braunschweig out of UAB in the ninth round of this past MLB Draft. He was a senior sign pick who received just a $2,500 signing bonus.What Were Expectations? Expectations were fairly minimal, but there were still some. Braunschweig received just a $2.5k bonus, but in his last […]

about 1 month ago | 0 reads