DALLAS -- Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said his offseason pursuits won¡¯t be limited by the realization that stiffer financial penalties are levied against teams that exceed the luxury tax threshold for three consecutive seasons.

¡°I think the big thing for that is if you¡¯re losing Draft picks,¡± Anthopoulos said. ¡°Dollars still matter, of course. But it¡¯s just a tax. It¡¯s just a percentage you¡¯re going up. It¡¯s for every dollar over. You¡¯re aware of it, but it doesn¡¯t stop you from doing anything. If the right opportunity presents itself, we¡¯ll do it.¡±

Anthopoulos will be evaluating what opportunities might develop as chatter increases during this week¡¯s Winter Meetings in Dallas. Offseason injury updates regarding Ronald Acuña Jr., Spencer Strider and Joe Jiménez added a few more offseason needs and, consequently, some more potential cost.

According to FanGraphs' RosterResource, the Braves' estimated luxury tax payroll stands just north of $217 million, approximately $24 million shy of the MLB¡¯s first luxury tax threshold for the 2025 season.

Teams that carry a payroll figure that exceeds a threshold are taxed on each dollar above the threshold, with the tax rate increasing based on the number of consecutive years a club has exceeded the threshold. Atlanta would be taxed at a 50 percent rate, as this would be its third straight year exceeding the threshold.

The potential cost for the Braves likely wouldn¡¯t be significant because they¡¯re probably not going to have an exorbitant overage.

¡°The tax and things like that, it¡¯s just a math equation, it¡¯s just dollars spent,¡± Anthopoulos said. ¡°You have X amount of dollars to spend. You¡¯ll bake it in, and that¡¯s part of our total spend. You just account for it. But it hasn¡¯t prevented us from doing things in the past.¡±

Clubs that are $40 million or more above the threshold shall have their highest selection in the next MLB Draft moved back 10 places, unless the pick falls in the top six. In that case, the team will have its second-highest selection moved back 10 places instead.

Anthopoulos made it clear the current priority is to do whatever benefits the present big league roster.

¡°It all comes back to the Major League team and if you can make your big league team better,¡± he said. ¡°Especially when we¡¯re in a position where we are, where we¡¯re in a position to win at this moment in time with this core, that¡¯s always going to be the priority.¡±

Flexibility is always the key. The Braves went into the offseason hoping Acu?a (torn right ACL) and Strider (right UCL surgery) might both be available around Opening Day. They didn¡¯t even know Jim¨¦nez (left knee surgery) was going to miss time. The team hasn¡¯t provided timetables, but Strider will likely miss April and Acu?a could be out until at least late May. Jim¨¦nez will miss most or all of 2025.

¡°Those are three monster pieces,¡± Anthopoulos said. ¡°It¡¯s one thing if you¡¯re losing a bench player or a backup player or even a last guy in your bullpen, but this is a Cy Young-candidate starter, an MVP-caliber position player and an eighth-inning guy who¡¯s as good as it gets. It had an impact.¡±

So should the priority be an outfielder, a starting pitcher and a reliever?

¡°There¡¯s just so many places we can get better, especially when you look at all of the injuries we¡¯ve had,¡± Anthopoulos said. ¡°Depth is always important as well. We¡¯re open to everything. Bullpen, offense, rotation. We¡¯ve had conversations about all three areas. I don¡¯t know what we¡¯ll come up with by the time the winter is over, but we¡¯re open to adding all three.¡±

Some industry insiders think Anthopoulos will place the focus on getting an outfielder. His current outfield could consist of Jarred Kelenic, Michael Harris II and Eli White. There¡¯s a need to account for Acu?a¡¯s absence with a player who could also become the everyday left fielder if June arrives and there are still concerns about Kelenic being a regular player.

Strider could miss four or five starts and then join a rotation that should include Chris Sale, Reynaldo L¨®pez and Spencer Schwellenbach. Anthopoulos indicated Grant Holmes could be used as a starter next year, though that doesn't erase the possibility of adding a starter via trade or free agency. But whether used as a starter or reliever, Holmes will need to stay in the big leagues, as he is out of options.