Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Braves Rumors

MLBTR Poll: Struggling 2020 Playoff Teams

By | at

This season has not started in ideal fashion for the majority of last year’s 16-team playoff field. While the Dodgers, Brewers and Athletics boast terrific records at roughly the 20-game mark, everybody else who qualified for the postseason in 2020 is, at best, hovering around .500. Eight of those clubs currently have more losses than wins (we’ll get to them in a bit).

With a 162-game schedule instead of a 60-game slate, slumping teams have far more time to rebound from slow starts this season. On the other hand, only 10 clubs will make the playoffs in 2021, so teams can ill afford to dig early holes for themselves.

American League

Twins (2020 record: 36-24; 2021 record: 6-11):

  • The Twins are coming off an 0-4, COVID-interrupted road trip that came to a horrific end with a 13-12 loss Wednesday, when sloppy defense led to an extra-innings collapse against the A’s. Reliever Alex Colome – the Twins’ keynote bullpen acquisition of the offseason – took the loss, continuing a rough start to the year for him. Meanwhile, ace Kenta Maeda turned in his worst performance of the season (seven earned runs in three innings) and has only gotten past the 4 1/3-frame mark in one of his four starts. The Twins will likely need the Maeda of old back if they’re going to push for a third straight AL Central title, though Jose Berrios and Michael Pineda have helped pick up the slack in their rotation so far. Meanwhile, the Twins’ offense hasn’t been a juggernaut (Josh Donaldson, Max Kepler and Andrelton Simmons have missed time with health issues), but Byron Buxton may be in the early stages of a breakthrough year at the plate and Nelson Cruz isn’t showing signs of slowing down.

Yankees (2020 record: 33-27; 2021 record: 6-11):

  • The Yankees were pegged as serious World Series contenders entering the season, but they have looked like bottom-feeders so far. What was supposed to be a high-powered offense has totaled the AL’s fewest runs and put up its second-worst wRC+, owing in part to the absence of injured 2020 home run king Luke Voit. The Yankees’ pitching has been much better than their hitting, but that’s largely thanks to the work of their bullpen – which hasn’t had many leads to protect. Gerrit Cole and, to a much lesser extent, Jordan Montgomery have carried their rotation, while offseason acquisitions Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon haven’t been all that effective coming off injuries, and Domingo German has struggled mightily in his return from a domestic violence suspension. The Yankees should get former ace Luis Severino back from Tommy John surgery during the summer, but there’s no telling how he’ll perform in the wake of two straight injury-wrecked seasons.

Blue Jays (2020 record: 32-28; 2021 record: 8-10):

  • The Jays have dealt with a rash of injuries to their pitching staff, including in their rotation – an area that could be a significant question mark even if everyone’s healthy. They have also had to go without their main offseason acquisition, center fielder George Springer, though he shouldn’t be far off from returning from a quad strain. To the Jays’ credit, they’ve essentially tread water thus far, and their plus-10 run differential does rank third in the AL.

Astros (2020 record: 29-31; 2021 record: 7-10):

  • The Astros sneaked into the playoffs last year with a sub-.500 record, though they still came within a game of reaching the World Series for the third time in four seasons. However, the team then got weaker in the offseason with the loss of Springer, whom it didn’t adequately replace, and was dealt another blow when starter Framber Valdez suffered a serious finger injury at the beginning of the spring. The Astros reacted by signing veteran Jake Odorizzi, who has delivered miserable results through his first two starts. Aside from Zack Greinke and Luis Garcia, Astros starters have not gotten the job done, while their bullpen has also been a letdown in the early going. Fortunately, even without Springer, a healthy version of Houston’s offense still brings plenty of firepower to the table.

Which of the above four AL teams do you believe has the best chance to rebound and make the playoffs? (Poll link for app users)

Which AL team is most likely to bounce back?
Yankees 44.97% (3,074 votes)
Blue Jays 20.66% (1,412 votes)
Twins 19.09% (1,305 votes)
Astros 15.27% (1,044 votes)
Total Votes: 6,835

National League

Braves (2020 record: 35-25; 2021 record: 8-10)

  • The back-to-back-to-back NL East champions have fallen behind in April, thanks in part to injuries to starters Mike Soroka, Max Fried and Drew Smyly. The Braves overcame a series of health problems in their staff last year to earn a trip to the NLCS, of course, but an elite offense led the way then. Their attack has been above average again this year, though Ronald Acuna Jr. and Freddie Freeman are their only regulars who have offered star-caliber production. Conversely, Marcell Ozuna, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, Travis d’Arnaud have gotten off to brutal starts at the plate.

Cubs (2020 record: 34-26; 2021 record: 8-9)

  • The most significant move the Cubs executed over the winter was one that weakened them, at least in the short term. The team said goodbye to Yu Darvish, sending the 2020 NL Cy Young finalist to San Diego for fellow righty Zach Davies and a few prospects. Cutting costs was part of the motivation for that trade and in general when it came to the Cubs’ offseason; as a result, many were bearish on their chances heading into 2021. So far, the preseason pessimism has been warranted. The Cubs have not hit much, evidenced by bottom four National League rankings in runs and wRC+, and their pitching staff owns the NL’s third-highest ERA. Of their starters, only Jake Arrieta and Alec Mills have managed to post an ERA south of 5.00 so far. Surprisingly, the club’s best pitcher has been closer Craig Kimbrel, who’s back in dominant form after he was largely written off before the season.

Cardinals (2020 record: 30-28; 2021 record: 8-10):

  • The Cardinals pulled off one of the ultimate headline-grabbing moves of the offseason in acquiring star third baseman Nolan Arenado from the Rockies. The hope then was that Arenado would lift an offense that finished 2020 with a less-than-stellar wRC+ of 93. Arenado has indeed notched solid production so far, yet the Cardinals’ wRC+ sits at an almost identical 94 through 18 games. Meantime, the bottom-line results of the Cardinals’  starters have been a far bigger problem, as their rotation – which is missing the injured Miles Mikolas – has recorded the NL’s fifth-worst ERA.

Marlins (2020 record: 31-29; 2021 record: 8-9):

Which of the above four NL teams do you believe has the best chance to rebound and make the playoffs? (Poll link for app users)

Which NL team is most likely to bounce back?
Braves 69.72% (4,849 votes)
Cardinals 21.47% (1,493 votes)
Cubs 5.65% (393 votes)
Marlins 3.16% (220 votes)
Total Votes: 6,955

East Notes: Braves, Smyly, Sale, Orioles, Kjerstad

By and | at

The Braves are planning to activate Drew Smyly from the injured list to start Saturday’s game against the Diamondbacks, David O’Brien of the Athletic was among those to relay (Twitter link). The left-hander was placed on the IL last week with forearm inflammation, but he’ll return after missing just one start. Smyly has allowed nine runs (seven earned) over his first eleven innings for Atlanta, but he’s struck out eleven with just a single walk to this point.

Elsewhere in Atlanta and the game’s East divisions:

  • In other Braves’ pitching news (also via O’Brien), reliever Chris Martin has started throwing as he begins his ramp-up. The right-hander hit the injured list in early April with shoulder inflammation but O’Brien says he could return by the end of Atlanta’s upcoming homestand, which runs through the 29th. Max Fried, who went on the shelf last week after straining his hamstring, seems to be further behind. He has not yet begun throwing and there’s no timetable for his return, per O’Brien. Like Martin, Mike Soroka is dealing with shoulder inflammation; the 23-year-old is expected to begin a throwing program sometime soon, but manager Brian Snitker suggested he’s still far away from any potential return to game action (via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
  • Red Sox ace Chris Sale is progressing in his recovery from March 2020 Tommy John surgery, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com relays. Sale isn’t throwing off a mound yet, but manager Alex Cora said he’s “getting closer.” The left-hander will report to the team’s complex in Florida on Sunday to continue his rehab. Sale “feels great,” according to Cora, though the Red Sox still aren’t ready to offer a timetable on a potential 2021 return. Even without Sale, the Red Sox have surprisingly begun the season with an American League-best 12-6 record. Nathan Eovaldi and Eduardo Rodríguez have been the top performers in Boston’s rotation this year in Sale’s absence.
  • Orioles outfield prospect Heston Kjerstad has been medically cleared to report to the team’s alternate training site, per Jim Callis of MLB.com. Kjerstad, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, has been away from the club while recovering from myocarditis. The 22-year-old will need “a months-long buildup” before he’s ready for game action, Callis tweets.

No Extension Negotiations Between Braves, Freddie Freeman

By | at

First baseman Freddie Freeman has become an institution in Atlanta since his career began in 2010, but there is a chance this will be his final season with the Braves. The reigning National League Most Valuable Player is not signed beyond this season, and if he does reach the open market over the winter, he’ll be one of the game’s highest-profile free agents. As of now, Freeman and the Braves are not progressing toward a long-term contract.

Asked about extension talks with the Braves, Freeman said Tuesday (via Jeff Schultz of The Athletic), “There is no negotiations.” Freeman added that discussing a deal during the season “would be a distraction and I don’t like distractions. My main focus is the game tonight and I don’t think there’s going to be much talking any time soon.”

Freeman has already received one lucrative payday from the Braves – an eight-year, $135MM extension in February 2014. As a soon-to-be 32-year-old, Freeman won’t sign a deal that long again, but a five- to six-year contract worth $25MM or more per season doesn’t seem outlandish. One comparable could be the Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt, who inked a five-year, $130MM guarantee with the Cardinals in 2019 at the age of 31. However, that was an extension hammered out several months before Goldschmidt could have gone to free agency, meaning the Cardinals weren’t competing against anyone for his services. The Braves may not have the luxury of avoiding a multi-team bidding war for Freeman if they’re unable to lock him up before the offseason opens.

Whether with Atlanta or another club, Freeman has done enough to earn a second nine-figure deal. The four-time All-Star has batted .294/.383/.510 (139 wRC+) with 245 home runs in 6,036 plate appearances, and he has missed only four games dating back to the beginning of the 2018 season. Freeman’s currently on pace for another tremendous year, having hit .233/.387/.517 (140 wRC+) with five HRs and a 14:6 BB:K ratio in 75 plate appearances. While Freeman’s batting average is uncharacteristically low, Statcast data suggests his .188 BABIP will eventually soar closer to his lifetime mark of .339.

Braves, Jesse Chavez Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Braves have agreed to a minor league deal with free-agent righty Jesse Chavez, as first noted on the transactions log on at Braves.com. Presumably, he’ll head to their alternate site once he clears intake testing.

Chavez, 37, spent Spring Training with the Angels, who cut him loose late in Spring Training rather than pay him a $100K retention bonus (as would’ve been his right as a six-year veteran who qualified as an Article XXB free agent). Chavez struggled through 4 1/3 innings with the Halos during Cactus League play, yielding seven runs on nine hits and three walks with just a pair of strikeouts (25 batters faced).

Chavez had a solid run with the Rangers and Cubs from 2018-19, pitching to a combined 3.58 ERA with a 23 percent strikeout rate and an excellent 5.5 percent walk rate through 173 1/3 innings (101 relief appearances, nine starts). But the wheels came off for the veteran righty last summer in the second season of a two-year deal with Texas, as he was clobbered for a 6.88 ERA in 17 innings of work.

This will be the second stint with the Braves for Chavez, who tossed 36 2/3 innings for Atlanta more than a decade ago in 2010. The results weren’t pretty at the time, but Chavez broke out not long after and solidified himself as a solid swingman over a seven-year stretch during which he pitched for six different teams. All told, he carries a career 4.52 ERA, a 20.8 percent strikeout rate, a 7.4 percent walk rate and a 41.6 percent ground-ball rate through 933 innings spread across 13 seasons and nine different big league clubs.

The Braves currently have five pitchers — Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Drew Smyly, Touki Toussaint and Sean Newcomb — on the injured list. Bringing Chavez into the mix afford them some veteran depth both in the bullpen and the rotation, though it’s been more than three weeks since the Angels cut him loose, so he may need some time to ramp up before he’s even considered for a look with the big league club.

Ronald Acuna Jr. Day-To-Day After Suffering Mild Abdominal Strain

By | at

TODAY: Acuna is day-to-day after an MRI “revealed a mild abdominal strain,” the Braves announced via Twitter.

APRIL 18: 9:50PM: Acuna has an abdominal strain, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (Twitter link).  A decision about an injured list placement will come tomorrow.

7:48PM: Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. left tonight’s game against the Cubs in the fourth inning “due to pain in his lower abdominal muscles,” the team announced.

Acuna drew a walk to begin the fourth inning, and then “appeared to tweak something” (as per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian) while diving back to the bag on a pickoff attempt.  After advancing to second base on a Freddie Freeman walk, Acuna was visited by the Braves trainer but remained in the game, and later had to dive across the plate to score on a Travis d’Arnaud fly ball.  For the bottom of the fourth, Ehire Adrianza took Acuna’s spot in right field and Johan Camargo entered the game to take over for Adrianza at second base.

More will be known about Acuna’s status after he undergoes tests, but needless to say, both Atlanta fans and the entire baseball world at large are holding their breath that the injury is a minor one.  After establishing himself as one of the sport’s best players in his first three MLB seasons, Acuna is already drawing NL MVP buzz after hitting an extraordinary .419/.486/.887 with seven home runs over his first 72 plate appearances.

Should Acuna have to miss any time, he’ll join fellow outfielders Cristian Pache and Ender Inciarte on the injured list.  The shorthanded Braves still have Marcell Ozuna in left field, but might have to rely on some combination of Guillermo Heredia, Adrianza, Camargo, or Austin Riley to handle the other two outfield positions in the interim.  Atlanta does have several experienced options at its alternate training site (including Phil Ervin, Abraham Almonte, and Terrance Gore), as well as top prospect Drew Waters.

Latest On Tyler Flowers, Braves

By and | at

There was very little reported interest in free agent Tyler Flowers over the winter. The Mets were linked to the veteran backstop last month, but his market has otherwise been quiet.

David O’Brien of the Athletic sheds some light on the situation, reporting that the 35-year-old has taken a non-playing position with the Braves, integrating analytics into in-game preparation. Flowers, however, has not retired as a player and continues to work out independently in case he decides to return to the field at some point, either in 2021 or in future seasons, O’Brien adds. It’s unclear if the Roswell, Georgia native remains open to all potential playing opportunities, or if his return to an MLB diamond would be contingent on doing so with the Braves. Given that Flowers lives with his wife and kids near the Braves stadium, this feels like a unique opportunity to keep a contingency plan in place for both Flowers and the Braves.

Alex Jackson is the current backup to Travis d’Arnaud, with William Contreras also on the 40-man roster. Veteran defensive specialist Jeff Mathis is also in the organization on the Triple-A roster. Both d’Arnaud and Jackson are off to relatively slow starts at the plate. As recently as last season Flowers made 80 trips to the dish across 22 games, slashing .217/.325/.348 in his fifth season in Atlanta. Flowers is a 12-year veteran who split his career between the Braves and White Sox. He owns a .237/.319/.391 line over 2,776 plate appearances for his career.

Braves Make Series Of Roster Moves

By | at

The Braves announced a series of roster moves in advance of this afternoon’s game against the Cubs. Atlanta selected the contracts of infielder Sean Kazmar Jr. and left-hander Jesse Biddle, recalled righty Bryse Wilson and placed outfielder Ender Inciarte and southpaw Sean Newcomb on the injured list. Righty Kyle Wright was optioned to the alternate training site last night. (ESPN’s Jeff Passan had previously reported Kazmar’s impending call-up).

Kazmar’s return to the big leagues is nothing short of remarkable. A 36-year-old infielder, his entire MLB experience to date consists of 19 games with the 2008 Padres. Kazmar has since bounced between the San Diego, Seattle, Mets and Atlanta farm systems. He has spent the past eight years in the high minors with the Braves, and his determination to return to the big leagues will now pay off. Andrew Simon of MLB.com provided the starting lineups (via Twitter) of the last MLB game in which Kazmar appeared.

Biddle signed a minor-league deal with Atlanta earlier this month. The 29-year-old southpaw has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past three years, with the bulk of that time coming in 2018 with Atlanta. The former top prospect has a 4.68 ERA with subpar strikeout and walk rates (22.3% and 12.8%, respectively) over 92.1 innings at the highest level. He’ll replace Newcomb, who was placed on the injured list for undisclosed reasons.

Inciarte, meanwhile, went on the 10-day IL as expected. He strained a hamstring in last night’s game. With both Inciarte and Cristian Pache now on the shelf, Atlanta will turn to Guillermo Heredia in center field this afternoon.

NL Injury Notes: Yelich, Cardinals, Inciarte, Lester

By | at

Although Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich hasn’t appeared in a game since Sunday, the team doesn’t seem overly concerned about his ailing back. Manager Craig Counsell said Yelich began baseball activities Thursday and is “making progress,” per Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Counsell likened Yelich’s current back ailment to the ones that he dealt with in previous seasons, noting that the former MVP didn’t require an IL stint in those cases and was able to return within a few days.

  • Cardinals center fielder Harrison Bader is 10 to 14 days from being a “full go,” manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Katie Woo of The Athletic) on Friday. The Cardinals have been without Bader since he suffered a forearm injury in late March, mostly leaving center to Dylan Carlson thus far. Meanwhile, right-hander Miles Mikolas threw a second “aggressive” bullpen and is making favorable progress, according to Shildt. Mikolas didn’t pitch at all last season as he recovered from surgery on his flexor tendon, and he suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of March that has stopped him from taking the mound this year. A healthy Mikolas would be a welcome addition for the Cardinals, whose rotation has begun 2021 in dreadful fashion. Their starters rank last in the majors with a 6.33 ERA.
  • Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte appears ticketed for a trip to the 10-day IL after suffering a strained hamstring Friday, David O’Brien of The Athletic writes. Inciarte would be the second Braves center fielder to hit the IL this week, joining starter Cristian Pache. Behind Inciarte, Guillermo Heredia has the most center field experience of anyone on Atlanta’s roster. Superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. played 100 games there in 2019 and spent the majority of last season there, but the Braves are reluctant to move him out of right field, per O’Brien, who names Phil Ervin and Abraham Almonte as call-up possibilities. Ervin and Almonte aren’t on the Braves’ 40-man roster, which does have an open spot at the moment.
  • Nationals left-hander Jon Lester got through a three-inning, 49-pitch sim game on Friday without any issues, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com relays. Manager Dave Martinez believes Lester would be able to toss up to four innings right now, but the Nationals want to stretch him out further before he joins their rotation. There still isn’t a timetable for his 2021 debut, Martinez added. Multiple health issues have hampered Lester since the Nationals signed him to a one-year, $5MM guarantee in free agency. He underwent surgery to remove his thyroid gland at the beginning of March and has been in COVID-19 protocols for most of this month.

Braves Place Drew Smyly On Injured List

By | at

The Braves announced Friday morning that lefty Drew Smyly is headed to the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his left forearm. They’ve recalled right-hander Kyle Wright from their alternate training site to take his place on the roster and start today’s game. Atlanta also recalled Johan Camargo as a corresponding move after optioning lefty Tucker Davidson following last night’s game.

Manager Brian Snitker tells reporters that the hope is Smyly will only need to miss one start (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Jeff Schultz), though his status will obviously be monitored in the coming days. Smyly becomes the second Braves starter this week to land on the injured list, joining fellow southpaw Max Fried, who is currently hobbled by a hamstring strain. Wright will get the first crack at stepping into the rotation, and the Braves have another young righty, Bryse Wilson, at their alternate site and ready to step up once Fried’s rotation spot next comes up.

Atlanta inked the veteran Smyly to a one-year deal worth $11MM over the winter, based largely on a terrific five-start showing in San Francisco last year. It was a sizable bet in a huge jump in the oft-injured Smyly’s swinging-strike rate and his overall strikeout rate, which saw respective jumps from 10.7 percent and 23.3 percent in 2019 to 14.9 percent and 37.8 percent in 2020. Injuries are part of the package with Smyly, who has reached 100 innings just thrice since making his big league debut in 2012 and missed the 2017-18 seasons entirely.

For the time being, the Braves certainly have the depth to withstand some short-term injuries in the rotation. But with Fried and Smyly sidelined in addition to a recent setback for Mike Soroka, the injury situations that bear monitoring are beginning to mount.

Offseason In Review: Atlanta Braves

By | at

After winning their third straight NL East title and falling one victory shy of a World Series berth in 2020, the Braves made a few notable moves in free agency.

Major League Signings

  • Marcell Ozuna, OF: Four years, $65MM (includes $16MM option or $1MM buyout for 2025)
  • Charlie Morton, RHP: One year, $15MM
  • Drew Smyly, LHP: One year, $11MM
  • Josh Tomlin, RHP: One year, $1.25MMM
  • Jake Lamb, 3B: One year, $1MM (non-guaranteed MLB deal; Lamb was later released)
  • Total spend: $92.25MM

Trades And Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

One of the main questions the Braves faced entering the offseason was whether they would re-sign outfielder Marcell Ozuna – who had a monster year in 2020 – or replace him with another big bat via free agency or the trade market. Liberty Media, the publicly traded company that owns the Braves, experienced a significant drop in revenue during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. The Braves could have used that as an excuse (albeit not a very sympathetic one for fans) to avoid going big-game hunting in the winter. Nevertheless, rumors connected the Braves to a slew of noteworthy offensive pieces, including J.T. Realmuto, DJ LeMahieu and Justin Turner on the open market and Nolan Arenado in a potential trade.

Ultimately, even though it hasn’t been general manager Alex Anthopoulos’ M.O. to hand out long-term paydays in free agency, Ozuna stuck around on a four-year, $65MM guarantee. Ozuna wasn’t eligible for a qualifying offer, so he would have walked for no compensation had the Braves let him go. And though Ozuna spent most of last season at designated hitter, the Braves knew they’d have to send him back to left field on a full-time basis this year had the majors done away with the universal DH. As it turned out, the league did just that, though the DH could return to the NL in 2022 if MLB and the union sign off on it in collective bargaining agreement negotiations next winter.

Ozuna was the lone major addition the Braves made on offense, but they didn’t need much with a Ronald Acuna Jr.-, Freddie Freeman– and Ozuna-led lineup that finished second in the NL in runs and third in wRC+ last year. That said, third base was a liability for the Braves, which explains why they at least had some interest in LeMahieu, Turner and Arenado. Having struck out with that group, the Braves took an inexpensive shot at Jake Lamb – a former All-Star who enjoyed a strong stretch run – only to release him before the season.

Failure to bring in a clear solution left the Braves with last year’s starter, Austin Riley, as their No. 1 option at the hot corner. Riley was a high-end prospect in his minor league days, and he’s still just 24 years old, but the results simply haven’t been there since he debuted in 2019. He’s off to another poor start this season, and if he doesn’t make significant improvements, it would behoove the Braves to pursue an in-season upgrade; that is, if they’re in contention.

While the Braves’ offense was marvelous last season, the same wasn’t true of their rotation. Mike Soroka and Cole Hamels were supposed to play integral roles, but those plans went up in smoke because of injuries. Soroka made just three starts before suffering a torn right Achilles tendon, while Hamels totaled only one appearance because of shoulder troubles. Fortunately for Atlanta, Max Fried and Ian Anderson more than pulled their weight across a combined 17 starts. Unfortunately, no one else provided much.

Fried and Anderson exited last season as shoo-ins to start for the Braves at the outset this year, while the hope was that Soroka would be back for the opener or at least shortly after that. Still, despite those three and the presences of other young starters such as Bryse Wilson and Kyle Wright, the Braves needed to add to their rotation in the offseason. There were rumored possibilities in Blake Snell and Adam Wainwright, but the Braves ended up signing righty Charlie Morton and lefty Drew Smyly instead. Anthopoulos brought in the pair on one-year deals, which has been fairly typical of how he has handled free agency.

Even though they didn’t require long-term commitments, there was certainly some risk in inking Morton ($15MM) and Smyly ($11MM). Morton, who began his career with the Braves in 2008, finally broke out in 2017 with Houston and was superb with the Astros and then the Rays through 2019. His numbers took some steps backward in Tampa Bay last year, though, and he’s now in his age-37 season. Morton’s 4.76 ERA early this season just about matches the 4.74 mark he recorded a year ago, but to be fair, his strong peripherals suggest a turnaround is coming in the run prevention department.

Although Smyly, 31, is younger and cheaper than Morton, he was an even riskier pick. After a promising start to his career, Smyly missed all of 2017 and ’18 because of Tommy John surgery, and he returned in 2019 to post unsightly numbers. Smyly, however, enjoyed a highly encouraging rebound in seven appearances (five starts) with the Giants last season. That convinced Anthopoulos to take a somewhat costly chance on Smyly, and though he has allowed nine earned runs in just 11 innings as a Brave, he has struck out 11 while issuing just one walk.

Of course, the fact that Morton and Smyly haven’t kept runs off the board at a solid clip isn’t the only problem the Braves’ rotation has faced. Like last year, they’re again battling multiple important injuries. As mentioned before, Soroka looked on track to return by early April. However, the Braves had to shut him down April 7 because of a new issue – shoulder inflammation – and there isn’t a timeline for his return at the moment. Meanwhile, Fried – a Cy Young contender in 2020 – got off to a brutal start this year in allowing 14 earned runs on 23 hits and five walks in 11 innings before landing on the IL this week with a strained hamstring. The hope is that he won’t be out for too long, but it’s certainly a discouraging development for the Braves that they’re facing attrition in their rotation for the second consecutive season.

The Braves’ bullpen helped pick up the slack last year, when Mark Melancon, Shane Greene and Darren O’Day each played key roles. All three are now gone, though Greene is oddly still available in free agency. Melancon took a more-than-reasonable $3MM guarantee with the Padres and has been his usual effective self this year. It was surprising to see the Braves decline an affordable $3.5MM option for O’Day in favor of a $500K buyout when the offseason began, and he’s off to a nice start as a Yankee this year.

The Braves didn’t do much to replace Melancon, Greene and O’Day. They did show interest in the No. 1 available reliever, Liam Hendriks, but he chose the White Sox’s four-year, $54MM offer. In the end, the Braves’ “big” bullpen move was to re-sign Josh Tomlin for $1.25MM, and they also took minor league flyers on some veteran relievers. One of those minors pickups, Nate Jones, is now in their bullpen. He hasn’t pitched all that well in the early going, though the bullpen as a whole actually has held up despite the lack of offseason upgrades. It’s currently top 10 in the majors in FIP, ERA and K-BB percentage.

Atlanta went into the offseason as a final four team looking to get over the hump and build a World Series-winning squad for the first time since 1996. The results haven’t been great thus far, as the Braves have lost eight of their first 13 games. Nevertheless, the talent is there for the Braves to at least push for another NL East title, if not more.

How would you grade the Braves’ offseason? (Poll link for app users)

Grade the Braves' offseason
B 41.92% (1,258 votes)
C 35.92% (1,078 votes)
D 10.40% (312 votes)
A 7.03% (211 votes)
F 4.73% (142 votes)
Total Votes: 3,001
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top