The Atlanta Braves made one of their first significant offseason moves on Thursday, agreeing to a three-year, $45 million contract with closer Robert Suarez, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The addition provides a veteran arm to stabilize the late innings after an inconsistent 2025 season, giving Atlanta its first major bullpen upgrade of the winter.

With the bullpen now addressed, one of the key positions Atlanta will perhaps seek to improve is shortstop after the team struggled to generate consistent offense from that position last year.

Former Braves outfielder and current broadcaster Jeff Francoeur echoed that sentiment on Thursday, noting that he wants to see the club add more offense at shortstop. He specifically mentioned free agent Bo Bichette as a player who could significantly improve Atlanta’s offense.

“I'd like to see the Braves get some offense from their shortstop,” Francoeur said.

Atlanta finished the 2025 season at 76-86, missing the playoffs despite solid contributions from several core pieces. Matt Olson hit .272 with 29 home runs and 95 RBIs, Michael Harris II added 20 homers, and Ronald Acuna Jr. returned from injury to post a .290 average with 21 home runs on his way to National League Comeback Player of the Year honors. But the shortstop position remained a clear offensive gap.

After the team moved on from Nick Allen, whose elite defense couldn’t offset a .221 average, Atlanta cycled through different options with limited success. Ha-Seong Kim, acquired late in the season, hit .253 over 24 games, but the small sample wasn’t enough to pull Atlanta's shortstop production up, as the team ranked 30th in OPS at that position.

Bichette stands out as one of the premier free agents available. In his seventh season with the Toronto Blue Jays, he slashed .311/.357/.483 with 18 home runs, 94 RBIs, 181 hits and a 134 wRC+ across 139 games, one of the top offensive outputs by any shortstop last season. Despite battling a late-year knee sprain, he returned for the World Series and delivered a three-run homer in Game 7, playing second base for the first time in his MLB career.

Toronto remains interested in re-signing him, but Bichette is still on the open market and expected to draw wide interest. His track record, postseason production and offensive consistency make him one of the top bats available at any position, and someone who could help the Braves at a position of need.