The Win Column: Choose your own (Braves offseason) adventure

Hey. I’m back.

Thanks as always to Uncle Ken Sugiura for being such a pro. And for constantly complimenting me.

My wife would never.

SHAKE IT OFF OR SHAKE IT UP?

We knew what the Braves were going in.

That doesn’t make their latest postseason flop, or the offensive offense that helped it happen, any less irritating. And it poses some mighty big questions moving forward.

Setting aside the potential complications off a leaguewide lockout, here’s an offseason primer.

Pay attention. There will be a test — or, you know, a fun thing where you get to play GM — at the end.

➡️ Free agents: Notables include shortstop Ha-Seong Kim (no thanks), Mauricio Dubón (yes, please) and closer Raisel Iglesias (pair him with Robert Suárez again? Let him walk?).

Postdeadline mound magician Tyler Mahle hits the market, too. He made $10 million in 2026 … but his Atlanta turnaround figures to raise the asking price.

• Other free-agents-to-be include starter Martín Pérez and reliever Brent Suter, plus bench bats Lane Thomas and Dominic Smith.

➡️ Options available: Second baseman Ozzie Albies struggled much of the season but was Atlanta’s second-best playoff bat. The Braves have a bargain-basement club option ($7 million) for 2027.

Then there’s Ronald Acuña Jr.

It wasn’t his best season. Across seven playoff games, he, Matt Olson and Drake Baldwin combined for 10 hits (and 24 strikeouts) in 78 at-bats. He got booed at Truist Park on Wednesday.

Acuña got emotional afterward, didn’t blame the fans and said he still wants to play out his career in Atlanta.

For now, that’s in the hands of general manager Alex Anthopoulos — who must decide on the first of two $17 million club options (or offer an early extension).

• 5 stats that defined the Braves’ NLDS loss
• Cunningham: Stars struggle, Braves fall

➡️ It’s complicated: We’re certainly not making any predictions yet re: Atlanta’s gaggle of injured and/or recently recovered pitchers, but Spencers Strider and Schwellenbach could return next season. AJ Smith-Shawver made the NLDS roster and Bryce Elder would’ve been ready for the NLCS.

Hurston Waldrep seems like a long shot for 2027. Reynaldo López has another year.

A few other things worth knowing …

• Third baseman Austin Riley tacked a career-worst year onto two earlier seasons of mounting mediocrity. He remains under contract through at least 2032. At $21.2 million a year.
• Catcher Sean Murphy is signed through at least 2028.
• Jurickson Profar (remember him?) still has one year and 15 million bucks left on his Braves deal.

So, uh … what’s the move? Stand pat and hope for better luck next time? Add a more formidable left fielder? Move on from part(s) of the once-untouchable core and try to find more bat-to-ball type hitters? Keep begging for another bona fide ace or two?

Sabotage Profar’s next drug test?

OK, OK, keep it between the lines. But be a dear and share some thoughts with the fancy form.

HURRICANES AND COOL HELMETS

As of this second, everything’s on as scheduled. That said …

🐶 No. 2 Georgia faces its two biggest tests of the young season on Saturday: Sixth-ranked Alabama and whatever Hurricane Isaias brings to Tuscaloosa (details on early precautions here).

Georgia enters a 1½-point underdog and I tend to think mucking things up could benefit the Bulldogs. Slow things down and such. Columnist Michael Cunningham has other thoughts:

• “The Bulldogs have yet to face a QB nearly as good as Bama’s Keelon Russell,” he wrote in his Weekend Predictions. “Georgia’s defense is excellent, but the Bulldogs always have problems against dynamic quarterbacks like Russell. Bama is my pick.”

🐝 Closer to home, the current forecast for Georgia Tech’s 3:30 p.m. tilt with Duke comes with a flood watch, the potential for high winds — and a 100% chance of super sweet Ramblin’ Reck helmet decals.

Our man Fletcher Page has more details on the tribute to Atlanta’s favorite motor vehicle mascot, which I’m sharing here in a free gift link. Because it’s been a tough season and you deserve it.

📺 Other college games of at least mild interest include …

• No. 7 Indiana at Nebraska (noon, Fox)
• Texas A&M at No. 14 Missouri (noon, ABC)
• No. 1 Texas vs. Oklahoma (3:30 p.m., ABC)
• No. 9 Ole Miss at Vanderbilt (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
• No. 20 UCLA at No. 13 Oregon (3:30 p.m., CBS)
• No. 10 LSU at Kentucky (7 p.m., ESPN)
• No. 19 USC at Penn State (7:30 p.m., NBC)

I’m calling a preemptive upset watch for that first one. Hoosiers have Ohio State next week, Huskers are undefeated.

IS A FALCONS ‘RED OUT’ A GOOD IDEA?

I’ve enjoyed this sudden Falcons resurgence as much as anyone. I think it’s real (at least in terms of consistently competitive and entertaining football; let’s not get too carried away just yet).

Not so sure about this Sunday night “red out” against Baltimore, though.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium will definitely be lit, as they say. And open-roofed, weather permitting. Much different from the jeer-happy interception-fest that Cooper Rush forced us to endure the last time the Falcons played at home.

That said: We all know that fans tied to more NFL-centric cities like Baltimore (and pretty much everywhere in the Northeast and Midwest) tend to weasel their way into the Benz in big numbers. There’s a reason the Falcons haven’t done anything like this before.

Does it matter? Not nearly as much as Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s injury status (and he hasn’t practiced yet this week).

But there’s a chance we see more than a smattering of purple amid the sea of red.

🔗 Bonus linkage: James Pearce Jr. back with team; NBC dubs Sunday “National Running Backs Day”

FLIRTING WITH THE FINALS

Fresh out of headline-worthy puns at the moment, but there’s a pretty good chance Atlanta’s WNBA team is Finals-bound by the next time we speak.

Up 2-0 and in full control of their best-of-five series against the Liberty — who can’t even keep track of their own timeouts — the Dream could clinch Friday (7:30 p.m., ESPN2) or Sunday (2 p.m., ABC). Those games are slated for New York, with Game 5 back in Atlanta on Wednesday, if necessary.