2 savvy Braves roster moves the Mets should try to replicate for 2025, 1 they should avoid

The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves finished with identical regular season records. Our foes south of the Mason-Dixon Line earned the higher seed in the playoffs because they owned the tie-breaker just to be disposed of quickly by the San Diego Padres.

These two NL East foes approached their roster building tactics differently for the 2024 season but both took some chances. Already carrying a heavy payroll, the Mets decided to take go with a lot of low-risk, high-reward types of players. The Braves made some riskier moves that managed to pay off in some big ways.

Two of those Braves risks are ones for the Mets to consider repeating in their own way this winter. Another is one they should stay away from entirely.

Making a trade for a player in a Chris Sale situation can be a huge under the radar Mets move

Chris Sale is probably going to win the National League Cy Young. Who could’ve predicted this? Long gone are the days when he was a perennial contender for the award in the American League. From 2012-2018, Sale was always within the top six. He never could earn the top honor even with some important league leading totals and a large stack of wins.

This year is different, though. Sale won the NL Triple Crown for pitchers by leading the league with 18 wins, a 2.38 ERA, and 225 strikeouts. The ERA title was the first of his career.

The Braves were only able to acquire him from the Boston Red Sox because of all of the missed time. Swapped for Vaughn Grissom, the Braves had faith he could be healthy (and good) again. Sale made 29 starts and it wasn’t until the very end of the season when the injury bug bit him.

A perfect replica on the trade market might not exist for the Mets. Let’s not limit it to only pitchers either. The Mets could use some bats. Rather than someone who battled injuries in recent years, someone coming off of a bad year might be a better fit. Just make sure the contract doesn’t extend beyond 2025.