The Atlanta rotation has had a rough go of it this spring. Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both hit the injured list before Spring Training games even began, and now they’ve been followed by the loss of lefty Joey Wentz to a season-ending ACL tear. The timelines for Waldrep and Schwellenbach aren’t yet clear, but they figure to miss significant time following surgeries to remove loose bodies from their elbows. (Schwellenbach is already on the 60-day IL.) That leaves the Braves with a lot of uncertainty in the rotation. Grant Holmes and Reynaldo Lopez are coming off injury-marred 2025 seasons, but they’ll be relied on for mid-rotation innings behind Chris Sale and Spencer Strider.
There’s still one rotation spot open. Wentz was in position to make a play for that spot and had a decent spring showing: two runs, three hits, four walks, one hit batter, six punchouts in 5 2/3 innings (3.18 ERA). His injury opens the competition up to a larger group.
The on-paper favorite is likely to be right-hander Bryce Elder, who made 28 starts for the Braves last year. Elder is still just 27 years old and was an All-Star back in 2023 thanks to a big first half, but in his past 52 starts he’s posted a 5.63 ERA with a below-average 18.4% strikeout rate against an 8.3% walk rate. Metrics like SIERA (4.56) and FIP (4.76) have been a bit better kinder, but Elder is approaching 300 innings with an ERA north of 5.50 over the past two and a half calendar years.
Elder’s status as the presumptive favorite is more about incumbency, being on the 40-man roster and being out of minor league options. He hasn’t made a strong case this spring, turning in a lackluster 6.48 ERA in three starts. That leaves the door wide open for someone else to grab the job.
Left-hander José Suarez is also out of minor league options and on the 40-man roster. He has an uneven big league track record but pitched well between 61 2/3 minor league innings and 19 1/3 major league frames for Atlanta last winter. He’s allowed four runs in 6 2/3 spring innings. Suarez gave the Angels 207 1/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball in 2021-22 before being tagged for a 6.91 ERA in 86 innings across a pair of injury-marred seasons in 2023-24.
The most prominent non-roster veteran in camp is southpaw Martín Pérez. The lefty has allowed only one run in five spring innings and is coming off a season where he posted decent numbers (3.54 ERA, 4.24 FIP) in 56 innings for the White Sox. Flexor and shoulder injuries shortened his 2025 season, and the days of Pérez’s blip of All-Star-caliber work with the Rangers (2.89 ERA, 3.9 fWAR in 2022) are likely behind him. Still, he has the potential to be an effective back-end starter.
Those aren’t the only options for the role. Veteran Carlos Carrasco is in camp, but after posting a 9.88 ERA in three starts for Atlanta last season and allowing nine runs on 11 hits in 6 1/3 spring innings this year, he seems unlikely to be the top choice. Didier Fuentes made his MLB debut last year and has tossed four scoreless innings this spring, but he won’t celebrate his 21st birthday until June and might be better served with more time in the minors. Top pitching prospect JR Ritchie enjoyed a strong season at Triple-A last year and has looked good so far this spring (3.38 ERA in eight innings). He’s not yet on the 40-man roster.
Another possibility that can’t be entirely ruled out is an external addition. Lucas Giolito remains available and seems like an obvious fit — despite an apparent lack of interest on Atlanta’s part thus far. Other veterans like Tyler Anderson and Patrick Corbin remain unsigned, too. Any of those pitchers could be added to the mix with the intent of them eventually taking over the fifth starter job, but the team would likely need to trade for a player that’s already been pitching for another club in order to add someone who will immediately be ready to join the rotation at the start of the season. A free agent like Giolito would surely need to get work in at extended Spring Training at this point.
How do MLBTR readers think the Braves will round out their rotation? Will they give the job to Elder and hope for better results than last year? Will they go with a young prospect like Fuentes or Ritchie, or perhaps a veteran like Pérez or Carrasco? Perhaps they’ll eschew all those options for an external addition? Vote now in the poll below:
I voted for Elder, but it truly pained me. They should sign Giolito. Perez and Holmes won’t make it through an entire season. They need more options.
I’m honestly very concerned now that Giolito has not been signed I think his physical is pretty worrisome. This is pure speculation.
Go – Giolito pulling a fast one on the Red Sox doesn’t help either.
Same. Nothing short of shocking that we’ve gotten here. If ‘25 didn’t teach AA the importance of depth, he’ll never learn.
@chief
Projected rotation options throughout the offseason:
Sale, Swelly, Strider, Lopez, Holmes, Waldrep, Elder, Wentz, Suarez, Fuentes, Ritchie
They had 11 options. Elder and Wentz are out of options so adding a guy like Giolitto, Bassitt, etc does nothing to improve depth. AA was never going to stash both of them in the bullpen so one of them would have to go. You add a more expensive option that isn’t much better than what you have and then subtract a less expensive option. Makes zero sense. This is why all offseason AA said he would only add a “playoff starter” (TOR). If you are going to subtract a starter to add a starter he wanted it to be one considerably better. The only FA I saw as a possiblity was Ranger Suarez. Wouldn’t touch Cease or Valdez. But even if he signed Ranger, if everyone stayed healthy, it would not have improved depth. Kinda hard to predict the Waldrep and Wentz injuries. And the way the last two years have gone for the Braves, Ranger probably would’ve been battling his recurring back issues.
This obsession for Bryce Elder from a lot of Braves fans is mind boggling to me. This guy has over a 5.50 ERA since the All Star break of 2023..pretty substantial sample size we’re talking about here. What’s gonna happen here?? All of a sudden he’s gonna turn into a quality pitcher by magic??? Why are we so damn worried about him being out of options?? Who’s desperate enough to scoop up a 5.50 ERA starting pitcher???
Pitcher A: 4.17 FIP, 5.06 xERA, 19.7% K rate, 9.1% BB rate
Pitcher B: 4.55 FIP, 4.73 xERA, 19.3% K rate, 7.5% BB rate
Pitcher A is 2025 Lucas Giolito, pitcher B is 2025 Bryce Elder.
Here’s their projections for this season:
Giolito: 4.65 ERA, 4.58 FIP in 138 innings
Elder: 4.38 ERA, 4.10 FIP in 152 innings
They can sign Giolito, but it needs to be both cheap and with the understanding that if he’s healthy, there’s a good chance he won’t be any better than Elder
Perfectly suitable 5th starter.
This question can’t be answered until early April. There is too much of a chance of another injury before then.
5 starters! Just let Warren Spahn pitch every day, dadgummit.
I would have to assume Martín Perez he can’t be worse than Elder.
Braves are now taking applications at BombsawayfromAtlantaga.com. Maybe hold a tryout of some sort.. gotta be a Vince Papale out there somewhere. When Lopez and Holmes go down we’re looking at Elder as our #3–yegads!!
Do you think Martin Perez is reconsidering his decision not to invoke his $10m option with the. Chicago White Sox?
I voted for Elder even though he is not even close to being the best option. But unfortunately, the Braves refuse to move on from him even though it’s painfully obvious he is not an MLB-caliber pitcher. Hopefully, I’m wrong, and they give the job to someone like Ritchie.
They better figure it out soon. There’s now way that rotation makes it through the season without another hickup!
Elder has 52 Starts of 5.63 ERA ball but so many on here telling me Littell is no better than him. So many baseball “intellectuals” fail to realize that some guys get good results pitching in different ways.
Both Elder and Perez will make the team- one in the rotation and the other in the bullpen.