How Braves could make 75-year franchise history with Christmas roster move

The Atlanta Braves are making some great offseason moves so far. Ha Seong-Kim returning to the Braves, and the additions of Raisel Iglesias and Robert Suarez to the bullpen have the outlook for 2026 on the upswing.

Along with Mike Yastrzemski, the Braves have made a lot of quality roster moves this winter. It's the holiday season, and the Braves front office could gift their fanbase with a quality Christmas present by going out and acquiring a top starting pitcher.

But, if they did make such a move on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, then the Braves, according to Baseball Reference's database, would be snapping a 76-year drought of roster moves during the holiday season.

How one Braves roster move could snap 76-year Christmas history

According to Baseball Reference, the Braves have not made any roster moves on Christmas Day, and on Christmas Eve, the most recent roster move came in 1949, 76 years ago.

That move came when the Braves were the "Boston Braves" and was a trade with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

It was a three-player trade, which sent Jim Russell (10-year outfielder with 18.0 bWAR) and Ed Sauer (4-year outfielder/pinch hitter with 0.0 bWAR) for infielder/outfielder Luis Olmo.

In his six-year MLB career, Olmo had 1.7 bWAR, with -0.9 coming with the Braves after this trade. Russell had 0.7 bWAR in two seasons with the Dodgers, while Sauer never played for the Dodgers, as his stint with the Braves in 1949 was his last in MLB.

That roster move wasn't the only one the Boston Braves made on Christmas Eve. They selected Joe Dugan, a 3-time World Series champion, off waivers from the New York Yankees on Christmas Eve, 1928.

During the 1929 season, he posted 0.1 bWAR in 60 games with a .304 batting average and .730 OPS for the Braves.

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This was a move made a long time ago, nearly 100 years, but the third and final Christmas roster move from the Braves came well over 100 years ago.

On Christmas Eve, 1914, the Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies made a trade which sent Sherry Magee to the Braves and two players to be named later (Oscar Dugey and George Whitted) to the Phillies, along with cash.

Magee played 2.5 seasons with the Braves, recording 6.7 bWAR in 350 games with a .262 batting average and a .689 OPS.

In the middle of his third season with the Braves, they traded him to the Cincinnati Reds, who went on to win the 1917 World Series with Magee's help.

Magee finished his impressive MLB career with 59.4 bWAR over 16 seasons, the majority of which came with the Phillies.

The Braves have been a part of MLB history on Christmas, but the majority of their moves have all come at least 76 years ago. One roster move, no matter how small, could have the Braves snap a 76-year record this Christmas.

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