Assuming left-handed starter Chris Sale wins the National League Cy Young award this offseason, the Atlanta Braves will have an award-winning pitcher on their staff in 2025. But the Braves should also have the opportunity to add an ex-Cy Young winner through free agency.
That's what Sports Illustrated's Will Laws and Nick Selbe argued this past week. On their MLB free agent rankings list, Laws and Selbe predicted the Braves to sign 29-year-old Shane Bieber.
"Bieber’s strikeout rate steadily declined from its absurd peak in the years following his 2020 AL Cy Young campaign before he underwent Tommy John surgery in April, two factors that may prevent him securing a lucrative longterm deal," wrote Laws and Selbe.