The World Series is over and the offseason is officially underway. Below is a look at some of the important dates to keep an eye on over the next several months. Of note, the new CBA has not been officially released so a few of the dates below are guesses based on previous seasons. We will update this article as dates become official.
November 6 – Free Agents File (Day after World Series ends)
Eligible players will file for free agency the day after the World Series ends. This will also begin the five-day quiet period where teams can negotiate with their own free agents, but are unable to sign anyone. Teams must also decide whether to extend one-year, $19.65 million Qualifying Offers to any of their free agents. To be eligible for the Qualifying Offer, a player must have spent the entire 2022 season with his team and have never received a Qualifying Offer previously.
The Braves currently have eight players who are set to file for free agency: Jesse Chavez, Darren O’Day, Luke Jackson, Kenley Jansen, Ehire Adrianza, Dansby Swanson, Adam Duvall and Robbie Grossman. Of this group, Swanson is the only one who will receive a Qualifying Offer. If Swanson does receive a Qualifying Offer and signs elsewhere, the Braves will receive a compensation pick after Competitive Balance Round B, ie, before the third round. Any player receiving a Qualifying Offer will have 10 days to accept or decline the offer; players receiving such offers are note prevented from negotiating with other teams, or signing deals, during this window.
November 7 – BBWAA Awards Finalists
Finalists will be announced for BBWAA Awards including Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, Cy Young Award and MVP Awards will be announced live on MLB Network at 6 pm ET on Monday, November 7.
Options Deadline – (Five Days after the World Series ends)
The Braves only have one player with an option in his current deal. Jake Odorizzi will decide whether to opt in to a $12.5 million deal for the 2023 season or take a $6.25 million buyout and enter the free agent market.
Injured List Reinstatement – (Five Days after the World Series ends)
Players that are currently on the 60-day Injured List must be added back to the 40-man roster five days after the World Series ends. Atlanta finished the 2022 season with five players on the 60-day Injured List, but three of those are free agents. Thus, only Huascar Ynoa and Manny Pina will need to be added back to the 40-man roster.
November 8-10 – GM Meetings in Las Vegas
These aren’t the Winter Meetings, but is the annual meeting of General Managers which will take place this year in Las Vegas, Nevada. These meetings typically focus on off-the-field, state of the game matters, but sometimes future trade discussions start here.
Thursday, November 10 – Silver Slugger Awards announced
The winners of the 2022 Silver Slugger Awards will be revealed on MLB Network at 6 pm ET on Thursday, November 10. Atlanta currently has five finalists in Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Dansby Swanson, Michael Harris and Travis d’Arnaud.
November 14-17 – BBWAA Award winners announced
- November 14 – Rookie of the Year
- November 15 – Manager of the Year
- November 16 – Cy Young Awards
- November 17 – MVP Awards
November 17 – Qualifying Offer deadline
As mentioned above, this is the end of the window by which players receiving Qualifying Offers have to make a decision. They can accept, decline, or sign a deal elsewhere any time during this window, but any player not accepting by this date will be considered to have declined it and therefore eligible for draft pick compensation if he changes teams.
November 18 – Rule 5 deadline
This is the deadline for players to be added to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. The Braves will have some interesting decisions to make with players such as Darius Vines, Braden Shewmake, Roddery Munoz and Victor Vodnik all among the group that is eligible.
December 2 – Non-tender deadline
This is the deadline for teams to offer their pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players a contract for 2023. Players who do not receive an offer are considered non-tendered and become free agents. Atlanta currently has six players who are arbitration-eligible including Silvino Bracho, Max Fried, Guillermo Heredia, Tyler Matzek, AJ Minter and Mike Soroka.
December 4-7 – Winter Meetings in San Diego
The Baseball Winter Meetings will be held in San Diego, California. These meetings are normally the busiest week of the offseason for both teams and players.
December 7 – Rule 5 Draft
Minor League players not on a team’s 40-man roster who have been in professional baseball for four (for college players) or five (for high school players) are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft. During the Major League portion of the draft, any player selected must remain on that team’s active roster for the entire season or be offered back to their original club.
January 13 – Exchange of Arbitration figures
Arbitration-eligible players and their clubs formally exchange potential salary figures. The Braves currently have six players who are eligible for salary arbitration (assuming none are non-tendered) Atlanta may elect to avoid arbitration with many of these players to work out one-year contracts agreeable to both sides, or long-term extensions. To the extent the Braves remain a “file and trial team,” they will treat this as a hard deadline for further negotiations — any player not signed to a deal for 2023 after this date will head to salary arbitration (see below). The arbitrators will then decide between one of the two salaries proffered by the team and player (they are not allowed to split the salaries down the middle).
January 15 – International Signing Period opens
The 2023 international signing period will open on January 15. This will be the second signing period for the Braves that is free of sanctions after the scandal under previous GM John Coppolella.
Mid-January – Hall of Fame voting results
The 2023 Hall of Fame class will be announced sometime in mid-January. Former Braves outfielder Andruw Jones will be a part of the ballot which will be released in mid-November.
Late January – Mid-February – Arbitration hearings take place
If teams and arbitration-eligible players can’t come to an agreement, then they will go to an arbitration hearing where the player’s salary will be set by a panel.