Braves General Manager Alex Anthopolous struck out in his attempt to land a top-of-the-rotation arm during the offseason, he said recently on The Bill Shanks Show. Even without a fresh face at the top of the rotation, the Braves enter the season in pretty good hands with Max Fried and Charlie Morton leading the way.
The face of the Braves’ title defense season, however, may depend more on the next two arms in the rotation: Kyle Wright and Ian Anderson. If the young duo can fully establish themselves as mainstays in the rotation, the future in Atlanta is bright.
Anderson is further along than Wright at the moment, having made 24 starts in the 2021 season, finishing with a 3.58 ERA/4.12 FIP over 128 1/3 innings. He then made four starts in the postseason, all four of which the Braves won. In fact, over the past two postseasons, the Braves are 7-1 in games Anderson starts, while he owns a 1.26 ERA over 35 2/3 postseason innings. After 30 career regular-season starts, Anderson’s rotation spot is secure. The only question remaining relates to his ceiling.
Wright, meanwhile, made just two starts with the big league squad during the regular season, and then matched that total in the World Series alone, tossing 5 2/3 innings and serving up just one earned run. Wright should finally get his opportunity to stay in the rotation this year.
The final spot in the rotation is where the Braves were presumably looking to upgrade. Mike Soroka lurks somewhere in the organization, but he can hardly be counted on until proven healthy. For now, they will rely on a depth group that includes Huascar Ynoa, Tucker Davidson, Kyle Muller, Touki Toussaint, and Bryce Elder. That group carries more upside than most depth stables, but for a team with aspirations of back-to-back titles, upside can mask inefficiency.
The Braves have won the division four years running, and they’re the defending World Series champions. To suggest that they need anything is premature. But with the Mets and Phillies both nipping hard at their heels, nothing is guaranteed. It’s certainly interesting to note that Anthopolous explored frontline rotation additions this offseason. As the season progresses and new names become available on the trade market, the Braves may again look to engage the trade market.
*WORLD CHAMPIONS
I’ve muted this annoying user 2 times now, but I still see his dumb posts, is this just an iOS issue?
Nope. On Android. It’s an app issue.
Only twice? There will always be a few consistently shameful posters on here, 48-team is the current semi-annual flavor.
In all fairness 48 Team is correct. Braves are the reigning champs.
I would give you an up-vote, but Georgia would suppress it.
Georgia will give you three weeks to vote, a lot more than a lot of blue states.
It’s not difficult to get a FREE ID. Quit whining.
Who doesn’t need another starter?
@MasterShake
It’s because CHAMPIONS can’t be muted.
I’ll mute him and see. I agree
Well played, Sir
As happy as I am the Braves won the world series, I’m tired of the constant coverage & the rings & how gaudy they are. Ugh
*AUGUSTA AS$HOLES
I don’t know a lot about their farm, but it seems most orgs. Have more veteran depth in pitching. I know they have had I think smyly and stuff in the past but don’t really see anyone suited for that role this year. Woulda been nice to maybe try out a guy like Cueto or even those lower tier guys on fliers. Just to help build up depth since starting pitching has been so volatile the last few seasons.
I’d have done the Cueto minor league deal if i was Atlanta but they do have a ton of in house depth for that 5th spot that they may just want to scuffle through to see what they have first. Wright was rushed early and never really got a fair chance so they need to figure out what he is, they need to figure out if Yona is a SP or better suited for the pen, Tucker Davidson is a major league ready #4-5 type SP, Soroka is set to be back around mid season and then you still have middle of the rotation up and comers like Kyle Muller and Bryce Elder. It’s pretty realistic to think Atlanta simply viewed Yona, Davidson, Soroka, Muller and Elder as being better options than Cueto at this time.
Get Cole Hamels to sign for 5m and makeup for his lost season. I cant believe this hasnt happened yet, we need somebody badly.
They could always bring Felix Hernandez back like they tried pre-covid. Lol
it’s 4 games into the season lmao they won the ws without Morton, soroka, huascar ynoa, a game 5 starter and many of the names listed in the article and capable of starting a few games, maybe more, if needed. it’s always nice to sign a dependable arm but to say the Braves need someone “badly” is a little exaggerated
I thought Morton got hurt during the World Series after already pitching a pretty effective game?
Morton was injured early in the game and was out by the third inning if I remember correctly. Minter came in and pitched multiple innings.
Cole Hamels has been stealing money the last several years. He gets injured brushing his teeth. Totally unreliable.
“The Braves have won the division four years running, and they’re the defending World Series champions. To suggest that they need anything is premature.”
Exactomungo!
Next.
The pseudo- suffix you may have been looking for have been “mundo.” Autocorrect gets us all (just now my phone tried to make it Munro-this isn’t a Tesla breakdown!)
While I agree the Braves don’t necessarily need another SP, it’s faulty logic that simply because a team won the prior year that they’re set for the current year.
Suppose the Giants had won it all, then 4/5 of their rotation had gone elsewhere, getting replaced by scrubs and injury-prone guys. Would they benefit from another reliable SP in that scenario? Yes. So in the Braves’ case, the argument works, but the logic of prior champion = complete, contending roster for next year is faulty.
If Kyke Muller can overcome his control issues, he could be a guy.
Bryce elder? Spencer strider? No.
Can we get through the rotation once before we start lamenting?? Anderson doesn’t look right, but he’ll right the ship while Wright and Ynoa could be the difference makers. Elder didn’t give up a hit during ST…I’d leave Strider where he’s at and let him build confidence/legend, for now.
Imagine having 2 long-relief guys between Strider and McHugh that can go ~2ish IP mowing down guys.
The 5~7 out Rp will be the new fad the next 7 years
Boston potentially just locked one up cheap for 6 years yesterday
I wish the Dodgers would allow Graterol to get 7 outs every once in while more. As you know, most these Rps are ex Sps…. the notion they can only get 3 outs was never built on solid ground… We will see a shift here soon and as one of the better Front offices Atl is already getting out ahead of it.
Agree with that. With many SPs going
5-ish innings becoming more and more common, having those bridge guys in a pen makes good sense.
In most cases recently they were subbed out for a PH. With universal DH I can see it happening a bit more often. You just have to find the right guys for the job, that are good enough to go multiple innings (most likely a guy blocked for SP innings by better options or a young pitcher trying to crack the roster), but also not a fit for the high leverage 8th/9th inning situations.
Yeah, I think anyone already sweating over the rotation is doing so prematurely. I’d agree with you here, Run. We can’t forget these guys had a short spring, so they may spend the first month figuring things out.
Anderson doesn’t worry me at all.
It’s Swanson’s start that has me worried.
It’s early let’s see where we are around All Star Break. I’m sure some starters will be available. Smyly, Hamels, all have been flops.
Smyly did just fine. Did AA overpay for him? Sure. But he was a good 5th starter for us, wouldn’t call him a flop because he wasn’t signed to be a frontline starter.
Mentioning the All Star Game might trigger some Braves fans. Too soon.
Eh…we took home the ‘piece of metal.’ Where’s my headphones, Rob?
If it was that easy to get one, they would have done so by now. As it is, I don’t think they do *need* one, but they will go through the same issues they did last season, as evidenced by the split with the Reds.
They definitely need another reliable starter, but to be fair, they needed one last year, too, and they still won the World Series.
Exactly I think winning is done with depth in this age of baseball. Stock your rotation with 5-6 number 3-4 type starters make the playoffs and everyone intelligent knows the playoffs are a complete crapshoot.
I would really just like them to just throw Muller, Davidson, Touki, Ynoa, and Newcomb at the wall and see what sticks. Then start filling out the bullpen with those that don’t stick. Like just stop trying Newcomb as anything more that reliever.
I feel like this touch and go approach to all the arms in the minors was fine a few years ago when they were younger, but now it seems like we could lose quality arms without giving them adequate time in one particular role.
What do other Braves fans think?
Personally, I can see Touki and Newk as solid 7th or 8th inning guys with Newk always flashing the elite closer potential in AAA (I’m like a year or two past that expectation though).
I just don’t want to see arms we get too fancy with get identified and properly utilized in another org because we gave the other orgs those short glimpses without picking a lane.
It just looks like they are doing the same thing they did to Sims. Have him work as a starter for so long, then just squeeze them into the bullpen because “experience is experience” when the roster spot is open. Then they give up when they become a roster liability. It’s okay to give up on a starter and cultivate a bullpen arm
Touki and Newk struggle with fast ball command. They would be starters or high leverage pen arms if they could consistently fill the strike zone. Newk is out of options and may get released when the rosters reduce in may. Touki is getting his last chance in AAA this year.
As far as Simms (and wistler) the Braves tried to develop them as a certain pitch pitcher and then go from there. Simms complained about it later when he got to the reds. He said the Braves tried to make him pitch against his strengths in Simms’ mind. Some of that is true—especially with wistler and Wright. Wright has talked about going back to where he feels most confident as a pitcher after trying to fit a mold the Braves wanted him to be. Whistler after he left spoke up how the Braves were pushing him to be—-he almost only throws sliders now and is very effective.
time to make another OAKLAND TRADE I Think NEWCOMB and TOUKI after many chances would n]e great with The A’s we can take the last Oakland front-line starter and they get two starters as they once again build a new rotation. Let’s Make A Deal Now!
Sims just didn’t preform. I wouldn’t blame the Braves for their usage of him. The results weren’t there.
Agreed that the results weren’t there, but they didn’t do him any favors. He was brought up a starter, given a cup of coffee as a reliever, then the next year worked a starter again before being called up as a reliever. Then just shipped out. Tossing 100+ innings as a starter then having the team say “good news! you’re going to be getting 50+ as a reliever in the bigs” probably messes with how a pitcher preps to toss multiple days in a row and screws with their pitch effort
Just plugging players into new roles like that doesn’t help the player or help the team with evaluations.
Granted that was during a FO change so AA could have just not been sold on sims or Wisler and wanted to clear out some of the old regime’s pieces
I am laughing about the Touki and Newk being ‘solid’ 7th or 8th inning guys. No, just no.
In fact, I would state the Braves have a bigger need to cut them than to add another starter. It would be addition by subtraction. I bet you there isn’t a starter on this team that likes seeing Newk come into a game with their runners on. Newk had solid stuff for a 1980’s/90’s guy, not for today’s game. Touki is just a thrower and not even a good one at that. He has not gotten any better in years.
Cut bait on both and it will improve the Braves immediately.
I can 100% see any starter crossing their fingers when Newk gets in the game.
However, I still think Touki can be developed into a solid reliever. Touki has the repertoire to adjust to the bullpen without having to use the 4 seam (which he rarely used). His sinker and split could work well coupled with the curve out of the pen.
Newk is a thrower. His fastball is always high. He can’t locate the fastball or curve so it’s easy for batters to wait on the cutter. I know his AAA numbers are probably inflated by impatient batters mixed with lack of control, but I still hold out hope. I could just see another team making him a solid two pitch guy.
But, to your point, bait will need to be cut. I just feel like there will be some arms let go that haven’t been put in the right position to succeed. And for some arms it’s been a while
They should call the Padres. I think they have a 45 man rotation right now. Might be able to get one.
Before they break them all, that is.
Ain’t that the truth..Clevinger and Snell are already down..as usual..
If Ynoa is healthy than no
*then
My assumptions coming into the season was that they were going to trade for a starter around the deadline. I doubt who they get will be major news.
They are doing just fine, Let them play another 20-30 games before we make any conclusions!
With Elder, Strider, Tarnok (further away but still could be ready this year) and others getting so close to being MLB ready starters, no. The Braves have invested so much in Wright, Ynoa, Davidson, and Muller (along with JDLC, Rangel, Touki, and…). The Braves have only gotten 15 starts from Wright so far in his career, Ynoa 22, Davidson 5, Muller 8. Wright, Ynoa, Davidson and Muller need at least 35 starts in Atlanta (and in that order) somehow. If Soroka comes back this year and somehow finds a way to be similarly effective……wow. I root for Soroka. But, even if Soroka doesn’t come back this year or next, the Braves have Strider and Tarnok who have top of the rotation type stuff. They also have Elder who would be a very valuable consistent 3rd type starter who can go deep into games. The days of stop gap starter pickups may be over for a while at least.
The team needs the get serious about defining roles for the “old guard”. Strider is looking great
I dont know if they need another starter but they need another bat or 2 because theres a lot of streaky guys especially in the bottom half of the lineup.
Why are people worrying about this, Just watch baseball and if AA needs a player or two he will trade for them. At the deadline.
The ONLY thing the Braves need to repeat is a shorter concession line at the stadium.
The line was ridiculous.
They’re good enough to see if any of their young arms can step up. If it doesn’t work out, they have Soroka and the trade deadline to pivot. It’s a calculated risk for a team that has greatly benefitted from pushing such decisions to augment the team until later in the season. They’re already at a club record payroll, so the move is to wait and see what the kids have.
I think Kyle Wright will turn the corner this season. The fact that he wasn’t shuttled back and forth between the majors and AAA did wonders for his confidence. Also, people forget that Ynoa was the best started on the team until he broke his hand so let’s pump the brakes until these guys get 5-6 starts.
Is that you Chip? Or is it Jeff?
Answer- Everybody could probably use another starter, there’s really never enough
Although the Dodgers went 1-2 up in Col the fact they had Anderson and Mitch White to soak up all those inns outta the pen just can’t be understated.
I realize most teams don’t go that deep but the better front offices like SF Atl Tor etc are beginning to realize the importance of having these depth pieces scattered on your 40
As long as Morton, Fried, and Anderson stay healthy and their bullpen remains deep, they should be fine through the summer. Between Wright, Davidson, Ynoa, Mueller, Touki, and Elder, there’s enough young pitchers to (hopefully) cover the final two spots until adding a reinforcement (Grienke?) near the deadline.
Soroka isn’t even in the equation at this point and Strider so far looks like a great right-handed option to balance a lefty-heavy pen this season.
With the depth and your three horses, it’s a good chance to finally give Kyle Wright an extended look and provide an opportunity for the other young arms.
Sure they could use a frontline starter. Don’t give another guy 11M though to be your #3 to be later buried at #6 option then banished to the bullpen without a role “insert Smyly here”.
BIG SEXY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Personally, I like what the Braves are doing with their pitching situation. The main player when a prospect comes up from the minor leagues is do they believe they can play with the big boys. I see Wright taking that step this year, you could see it in him yesterday. Sure, he’s going to have some bad days but he is going to have more days like yesterday. Ian was off on his first start, it happens to everyone. We have 4, all we need is one more to step up. I know if I was calling the shots, I would send Strider down with the intention of him being a starter, I like him.
I think the answer to this question is, “yes”, for every competing team.
Every team in the league needs more quality starters. The Braves are fine.
The Braves won the WS last year having 2 starters left at the end. The wait and see approach with all these kids seems like a good idea. Just get in with the lineup and bullpen and take our chances
They should have tried to get Manaea or Montas packaged along with Olson from the A’s.
I agree, they should’ve made a stronger push to get Manaea. They seem to want a bit too much for Montas, but Manaea would’ve been a nice add for not too much more.
No worries guys, Bieber will be wearing the Braves gold soon. Hopefully, Duvall is shipped out.
They do need another arm or even two. Ideally we’d hope someone like Tucker Davidson can step up and hold the fort down, but it’s not likely. Wright is a wild card, we all know that. And truly, anderson is prob a wild card also, the way he’s pitched lately. I fear an injury is looming with him honestly. So for those reason, we need at least 1, if not 2 starters. Here’s my ultimate prediction: fried Morton are fine, if not ace like. Anderson gets injured, and Wright steps up finally this years holding the 3rd spot down. Ideal, Soroka comes back like he’s never left, but the 4th spot will ultimately land on Elder once everything is said and done… he’ll hold that strong for quite some time. Then, the 5th spot will be a rotating whoever is hot between Muller, Davidson, Ynoa, and maybe Stider. It’s not pretty… but it’s better than you think
The hitting will get a boost when Acuna returns.
I thought for sure they would go after Chris paddock