It’s been a tough start to the season for the Braves, who only won their first game of the season last night. On top of their struggles in the standings, the lineup lost Jurickson Profar when he was hit with an 80-game suspension for a positive PED test while the rotation will be without right-hander Reynaldo Lopez for the foreseeable future as the hurler is scheduled to undergo shoulder surgery. Brutal as the start of the season has been for fans in Atlanta, however, there is light at the end of the tunnel. MLB.com notes not only that right-hander Spencer Strider is scheduled to make a rehab start at Triple-A this coming Thursday, but that it could be his final outing before he returns to the majors.
A healthy and effective return to the big league rotation would be a game changer for the Braves, particularly after Lopez’s recent injury. While reigning AL Cy Young award winner Chris Sale and young righty Spencer Schwellenbach are both excellent starters, beyond that duo the club is currently relying on converted reliever Grant Holmes and a pair of youngsters with hit-or-miss track records as big leaguers in AJ Smith-Shawver and Bryce Elder. A more established pitcher would be very welcome, and Strider is more than simply established after he finished as the runner-up in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 before earning an All-Star appearance and a fourth-place finish in NL Cy Young award voting the following season.
Strider’s career 3.47 ERA is merely above-average (123 ERA+), but it belies his otherworldly 36.9% strikeout rate and 2.56 FIP, both of which place him among the very best pitchers in the entire sport. It would be unreasonable to assume that Strider will be able to provide that peak production this year given the number of players who have struggled while shaking off the rust of a long layoff. Nonetheless, even a somewhat diminished Strider is likely a front-of-the-rotation caliber, and the hurler’s 46.7% strikeout rate and 1.08 ERA through two rehab outings certainly don’t reveal any obvious signs of rust.
Strider isn’t the only notable player who could be returning to the roster soon for Atlanta. Catcher Sean Murphy is scheduled to make a nine-inning rehab appearance at Triple-A tomorrow. According to Bowman, that could be his final rehab outing if all goes well, with Murphy returning to the Atlanta lineup on Tuesday against the Phillies. It would be a huge boost to the Braves if Murphy were able to return so quickly after suffering a fractured rib last month. While his 2024 season was derailed by injury and saw him struggle when healthy enough to take the field, Murphy is not far removed from being considered the game’s best catcher and would be a huge boost to a struggling Atlanta lineup if he were to hit to even his career .233/.329/.429 slash line, to say nothing of the star-level offense he posted during the 2022 and ’23 seasons.
The return of Murphy to the lineup will likely spell the end of top catching prospect Drake Baldwin’s first stint in the big leagues, as he’s gone just 2-for-22 with three walks and five strikeouts through six games in the majors. While that’s not a sample size worth drawing any conclusions from, it would hardly be a shock if the club decided Baldwin was best served getting regular at-bats at Triple-A and opted to use Chadwick Tromp as their backup catcher going forward. With that being said, the club did recently add catcher Jason Delay to their 40-man roster in a trade with the Pirates and could therefore designate Tromp for assignment and still have a third catcher in the fold even if he were to depart via waivers or free agency. That could at least leave the door cracked open for Baldwin to backup Murphy in a larger role similar to the one Travis d’Arnaud held last year.
In other Braves news, The Athletic’s David O’Brien recently suggested that there could be a shakeup at shortstop coming down the pipeline for the club. Nick Allen was initially acquired to serve as a bench bat, but he’s hit a solid .333/.375/.400 so far while playing strong defense to this early point in the regular season. That strong early showing in conjunction with a lackluster spring from Orlando Arcia and his dreadful (2-for-13 with five strikeouts) start to the season could create an opening for Allen to seize a larger role with the club, particularly if the club’s early season struggles continue for longer than the season’s first week.
Wow, a ‘dreadful’ Orlando Arcia. That’s a soul crushing description.
I mean, how bad do you have to be to be out-hit by Nick Allen
I hears yah!
Nick Allen has the highest batting average on the team right now lol.
Helps explain that 1-8 record doesn’t it
In fairness he said his performance is dreadful, not Orlando himself lol…
Seriously the Braves squeezed as much as possible out of Arcia. Braves need to stop being cheap and improve the club in FA (which they never do tbh). Adames would’ve been a great get this off-season.
Being cheap??? Look at their payroll. Nothing cheap about it.
‘Cheap in Free Agency’…all the extensions are cool but that’s not helping to fill glaring holes every off season. More talent has left then has been replenished since 21’ world series.
Total payroll and the attached restrictions are the same no matter whether they are FA deals or extensions. And as far as team-building goes just about everyone would prefer to develop and extend their own.as a larger share of the roster.
AA has been doing a pretty terrific job overall…not his fault that Liberty Media still requires a budget at some point.
I heard they are trying out Matt Tuiasosopo at short.
I like Orlando, but might as well try it.
Strider’s 2.43 what??? It’s not his FIP or xFIP.
Clearly MLB Trade Rumors has a new pitching metric that’s meant to be super secret.
I now understand why people complain about Nick Deeds’ articles
Hotlanta should be looking to trading one of their spare arms for a big hitter. Maybe they can fleece the Athletics again and get Brent Rooker.
You’re funny….. The A’s aren’t trading Rooker
@choof
Why not?
If they want to start their tenure in Vegas off on a good foot I would imagine trading your best player that you just extended would probably be a poor way to start
fleece? Langoliers is looking pretty good for the A’s. I don’t think they got as “fleeced” as people think.
Arcia’s career OPS is .668
Allen’s is .542
It’s kind of hard to get excited about either one.
Hopefully Murphy returns next week. Strider the following week, and then Acuna in early May, That trifecta should give the Braves much needed boost.
Of those three returning do you think they will all perform like All Stars?
This team might be even worse than the 2024 White Sox!
At this point, let’s just refer to the Braves, going forward, as the Boston Beaneaters.
Worst take I’ve read on here in a very long time
In a really, really, really, really long time? Well, that’s just being mean. I hope you’re pleased with yourself.
It’s like ai wrote this lol, what the hell is with the grammar
otherworldly
Hey Nick, Sale would be the NL Cy Young award winner, not AL.
The problem isn’t the pitching. This offense sucks
I’m certain this wasn’t AA’s idea but dropping payroll when your team is the middle of a World Series competing window makes ZERO sense to me. But here we are….
Exactly, I don’t understand why people don’t get this sentiment more often. I’m not an AA fan boy nor a hater, just think he’s backed himself into a corner with as much as he’s allowed to do. When a world series competitor can’t add in Free agency of note at least once every couple of seasons something is wrong.
McGuirk is notoriously cheap and him cutting the 2025 payroll by $20M cost ATL a good SP like Flaherty. The bats will eventually come around, but the health of the rotation was a major question mark before the off-season even started
This is a strangely written article.
Definitely AI
46.7% strikeout rate in 2 rehab starts.
Is the percentage really necessary?
He pitched 8.1 innings with 14k
Tiny sample size but certainly encouraging. Also, strikeout percentage is different from K/9.
I know.. I’m just saying using “46.7%” with that sample size tells me nothing.
He struck out 14 out of 30 batters. So 46 2/3. So it’s 46.7 with rounding, who in their right mind thinks that is useful here? Just use totals
Braves issue isn’t pitching. Their issue is they can’t score consistently due to their inability to hit with RISP.
I am happy to move on from Chadwick and Orlando. Let’s go!
Really good team, no SP depth at all. I can’t see the Braves staying in the race unless they’re extremely lucky with Sale’s health.
They’re already two pitchers into their depth now and have Waldrep as an option. Eight viable SP is solid depth.
This is an interesting stat. Career batting averages: Maddux, .171; Glavine, .186; Smoltz,.159, vs 2025 Atlanta Braves: .151
No light at the end of the tunnel. Stinker out of Atlanta by end of April.
Disclaimer: I’m not a Snitker fan, but I have felt that the previous termination calls weren’t warranted. However, at this point, it feels like he’s at the end of his leash, like the man he supplanted, Fredi Garcia. It is still likely too early, and it may be his last season, following the recent extension. With that context and his loyalty to the organization, unless they’re 2-20 or become the 2024 White Sox (sorry CHISOX fans), I don’t see him being fired this year.
Whoops, meant Fredi González, not the pitcher!
Don’t recall the Braves batters collectively slumping this badly during Seitzer’s decade with the club.
the new hitting coach seems to want the hitters to take walks. notice how the hitters aren’t swinging at first pitches this year. walks are way up. ozuna has more walks than ks. that’s never happened. he’s a power hitter. he usually swings on the first pitch. same with Olson. none of this is happening. lots of walks and guys on base but stranding runners
What a clown… you want to trade Acuña and now you want them to fire Chris Sale too?
I think part of the issue is the hitting coach making the hitters take a walk approach. the last several years ozuna and so forth were given the green light to hit the ball first pitch. seems the new pitching coach wants us to walk more. our team is full of hitters that drop Homer’s. if you’re expecting your hitters to be patient then get what you have now. we need guys who go up to the plate aggressively. a walk is great but its worthless if you’re not allowing your power hitters to swing freely. go look at the amount of our hitters not swinging on first pitches. its absurd.
Jesus, please get rid of Nick Deeds. “Brutal as the start of the season has been” is NOT PROPER ENGLISH. You can’t just leave “as” out to begin the sentence. It’s not optional! Grammar is not optional when you’re being paid to write.