Following an earlier report from Ken Rosenthal that the Braves are willing to spend big on a free agent starter, in which Rosenthal name-dropped Aaron Nola as a specific option, Jon Morosi is reporting that Nola and Sonny Gray have “emerged as strong possibilities” for Atlanta.
The Braves have reportedly had intermittent trade interest in Gray dating back to before 2018 even. Aaron Nola has a connection with Atlanta pitching coach Rick Kranitz, who worked with him in Philadelphia before coming to Atlanta. Both have some regional connections to the Braves. These two would seem to be the most connected to the Braves of the available starting pitching free agent options, but the Anthopoulos front office will surely explore all available options.