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Cody Bellinger Has Hairline Fracture In Left Leg

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Dodgers slugger Cody Bellinger hasn’t played since April 5, and it doesn’t appear a return is imminent. A recent test on Bellinger’s injured left leg revealed a hairline fracture, manager Dave Roberts told Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters. Roberts added that “it’s not a day-to-day thing.”

Bellinger landed on the 10-day injured list April 9 (retroactive to April 6), at which point it was believed he only had a left calf contusion. The Dodgers seemed optimistic Bellinger would return in fairly short order, but that won’t be the case. However, it’s not yet clear how much more time the 25-year-old outfielder/first baseman will miss.

Bellinger helped the Dodgers to NL West titles in each of his four full seasons, and the former MVP was a key part of last year’s World Series-winning club. Bellinger opened this season as the Dodgers’ center fielder, but the depth-laden team has had the luxury of turning to Chris Taylor, Mookie Betts and AJ Pollock (mostly Taylor) at the position during his absence. Even with Bellinger on the shelf for most of April, the Dodgers have stormed out of the gates to an 11-2 record – the best mark in the majors.

NL Injury Notes: Yelich, Cardinals, Inciarte, Lester

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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.

AL Injury Notes: Lewis, Buxton, Rangers

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Mariners center fielder Kyle Lewis has been out all month with a deep bone bruise in his right knee, but he could make his 2021 debut within the next few days, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times relays. Manager Scott Servais said the Mariners hope Lewis will return during their homestand – which runs from tonight through Tuesday – while GM Jerry Dipoto told ESPN 710 that he’s likely to come back Monday. Lewis won AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2020 on the strength of a .262/.364/.437 line with 11 home runs and five stolen bases in 242 plate appearances. The Lewis-less Mariners have used Taylor Trammell in center, but he has slumped to a .132/.283/.316 mark over 46 PA.

More injury updates on a pair of other AL clubs…

  • Twins center fielder Byron Buxton, who hasn’t played since Tuesday, is dealing with a mild hamstring strain, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com tweets. Buxton was out of the Twins’ lineup again for their game in Anaheim on Friday, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll need to go to the IL. The 27-year-old has gotten off to an otherworldly start this season with a .469/.528/.1.094 line and five homers in 36 trips to the plate. He has already posted 1.2 fWAR, which matches the figure he put up last year in 99 more PA (135).
  • The Rangers could reinstate outfielder/designated hitter Willie Calhoun from the 10-day IL on Saturday, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Calhoun suffered a groin injury over a month ago and hasn’t made his 2021 debut as a result. After putting up encouraging offensive numbers two years ago, Calhoun endured a disastrous 2020 that included a fractured jaw in spring training and then a .190/.231/.260 line in 108 regular-season plate trips.
  • Sticking with the Rangers, the team announced Friday that it activated left-handed reliever Joely Rodriguez from the 10-day IL and optioned righty Josh Sborz. Rodriguez hasn’t been able to pitch this regular season because of a sprained left ankle. Although he only threw 12 2/3 innings last season, Rodriguez impressed with a 2.13 ERA, 17 strikeouts against five walks, and a 51.7 percent groundball rate. He held his own against lefty and righty hitters alike, limiting batters to a pitiful .174/.255/.239 line.

COVID Notes: 4/16/21

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Friday’s coronavirus-related updates from the majors:

  • The Astros placed second baseman Jose Altuve, third baseman Alex Bregman, designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, catcher Martin Maldonado and infielder Robel Garcia on the COVID injured list Wednesday. They’re unlikely to return for the team’s five-game road trip, manager Dusty Baker told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle and other reporters. The Astros begin a three-game series in Seattle on Friday, and they’re scheduled to play in Colorado next Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • The White Sox announced that they have reinstated right-hander Dylan Cease from the COVID IL and optioned righty Zack Burdi to their alternate site. Cease was only on the list for two days, but he’s already set to return after “a series of negative tests,” the team stated. He’ll make his third start of the season Saturday against the Red Sox. Cease logged a 3.86 ERA with nine strikeouts and six walks over 9 1/3 innings in his first two appearances.
  • Twins manager Rocco Baldelli revealed that he received a false positive test on Thursday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. He isolated in his office and was then cleared after three or four more tests. The Twins aren’t out of the woods yet, though, as Baldelli said (via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com) that they’ve had “further COVID-related issues in the clubhouse” on Friday. He couldn’t offer further details.
  • The Phillies with go without three members of manager Joe Girardi’s staff because of COVID protocols, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Hitting coach Joe Dillon, third base coach Dusty Wathan and bullpen coach Dave Lundquist are all away from the team. First base coach Paco Figueroa will move across the diamond to third, and coaching assistant Bobby Meacham will take over at first, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Angels Select Scott Schebler, Designate Jon Jay

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The Angels announced that they have selected outfielder Scott Schebler and designated fellow outfielder Jon Jay for assignment. The team also recalled infielder Luis Rengifo.

Schebler had a decent run as a member of the Reds from 2016-18, a 1,243-plate appearance span in which he offered roughly league-average production with a .248/.323/.457 line (102 wRC+) and 56 home runs. His best effort as a power hitter came during a 30-HR showing in 2017, though both his pop at the plate and his playing time have tailed off since then. As a Red and Brave from 2019-20, Schebler only amassed 95 plate appearances, 94 of which came in the first of those seasons. He batted a woeful .123/.253/.222 with two HRs that year.

Thanks to his recent struggles, Schebler had to settle for a minor league contract with the Angels over the winter. For now, he’ll replace Jay as a sub for the Angels’ starting alignment of Mike Trout, Jared Walsh and Justin Upton.

Jay was also a minor league pickup for the Angels, but the 36-year-old couldn’t take advantage of his MLB opportunity early this season. He went 1-for-8 with a single and two strikeouts before the Angels designated him.

Padres Activate Fernando Tatis Jr.

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APRIL 16: The Padres have activated Tatis, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. They optioned infielder Tucupita Marcano to make room for Tatis, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic.

APRIL 15: Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. suffered a catastrophic-looking left shoulder injury on April 5, though it doesn’t appear he’s going to miss much time. Tatis had his day “as far as his at-bats” go on Thursday, according to manager Jayce Tingler, and Dennis Lin of The Athletic tweets that the Padres are “expected” to activate him from the 10-day injured list Friday.

Tatis will be back in time to face the Dodgers, the reigning World Series champions and the NL West leaders who are the biggest obstacle standing in the Padres’ way. San Diego entered 2021 with championship hopes of its own after going 37-23 a year ago, thanks in no small part to Tatis. The 22-year-old wunderkind slashed .277/.366/.571 with 17 home runs and 11 stolen bases last season en route to a fourth-place finish in NL MVP voting.

Tatis could find himself in the thick of the MVP race for a long time, which led the Padres to sign him to a historic 14-year, $340MM extension in the offseason. They and their fans were undoubtedly filled with concern when Tatis went down in their fifth game this season, but he appears to have dodged a significant injury.

With Tatis out, the Padres have gone with Ha-Seong Kim and Jake Cronenworth at short. Both Kim and Cronenworth are versatile enough to play multiple positions, so they should get plenty of time on the field for San Diego when Tatis returns.

Offseason In Review: San Diego Padres

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The Padres finally put themselves back on the map in 2020. Emboldened by last year’s success, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller spent the winter attempting to assemble a championship-caliber roster. Preller had plenty of money to play with, evidenced by the Padres’ franchise-record $174MM Opening Day payroll.

Major League Signings

Trades And Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

At 37-23, the Padres finished with the majors’ third-best record last season, but that still left them six games behind the Dodgers – their NL West rival and the reigning World Series champions. With that in mind, Preller and his front office cohorts used the past few months seemingly leaving no stone unturned in an effort to overthrow the Dodgers, who have ruled the division for eight consecutive seasons. The Padres showed interest in a variety of household names both in free agency and trades, and they were successful in reeling in a few big fish.

The always aggressive Preller’s main headline-grabbing acquisitions addressed the Padres’ rotation, which was terrific last year. However, the Padres saw a couple of their top starters – Dinelson Lamet and Mike Clevinger – go down with injuries late in the season, while Garrett Richards then exited in free agency. Lamet hasn’t yet returned from the elbow issues that ended his season in September, though he doesn’t seem far away from his 2021 debut. On the other hand, the Padres learned in November that Clevinger, who was a blockbuster in-season pickup, required Tommy John surgery. He’s not going to pitch at all in the current campaign, but that didn’t stop the Padres from signing Clevinger to a two-year, back-loaded deal with the hope that he’ll factor in come 2022.

In the wake of the Clevinger news, the Padres went to work in a major way. They showed interest ranging from mild to serious in free agents such as Trevor Bauer, Masahiro Tanaka, Tomoyuki Sugano, Adam Wainwright, Kohei Arihara and Martin Perez. Trade targets included Sonny Gray and Lance Lynn, though the Padres instead landed three other high-profile starters via that route.

The first domino to fall for San Diego was the acquisition of former AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell from the Rays. Snell has three years and $39MM of control left, so as you’d expect, the Rays didn’t give him away for cheap. Rather, the package headed to Tampa Bay centered on 21-year-old righty Luis Patino, who ranks among the premier prospects in the sport. The Padres also had to surrender two other quality prospects – righty Cole Wilcox and catcher/first baseman Blake Hunt – as well as a once-heralded farmhand in Francisco Mejia. Acquired from the Indians in the teams’ Brad Hand trade in 2018, Mejia was never able to establish himself with the Padres at catcher, nor did his offense come close to matching the hype.

The Snell swap wasn’t the only late-December present for the Padres or their fans. Shortly after swinging the trade with Tampa Bay, Preller & Co. pried 2020 NL Cy Young finalist Yu Darvish and catcher Victor Caratini from the Cubs. It didn’t cost the Padres nearly as much this time, in part because they ate all but $3MM on the $62MM Darvish is owed over the next three years. The Padres did have to give up one of their best 2020 starters, Zach Davies, but he’ll be a free agent next offseason. Plus, it’s hard not to view Darvish as a clear upgrade over Davies. Along with Davies, San Diego parted with four prospects – shortstops Reginald Preciado and Yeison Santana and outfielders Owen Caissie and Ismael Mena – but all of those players are at least a few years from the majors. That’s if they make it at all.

The addition of Caratini came as welcome news for Darvish, as the former is his personal catcher. Caratini played second fiddle to Willson Contreras in Chicago, but he has typically blended passable offense for his position with well-graded defense. Once Austin Nola returns from a fractured finger, he and Caratini should give the Padres a solid one-two behind the plate with Luis Campusano also in the mix.

No one would have blamed the Padres had they stopped at Snell and Darvish, but they decided there was more to accomplish. Just a few weeks after scooping up those two, the Padres executed yet another eyebrow-raising trade, this time hauling in righty Joe Musgrove from the Pirates. While Musgrove doesn’t carry a Snell- or Darvish-like track record, he did give the Pirates useful mid-rotation production for multiple seasons. Now back in his native San Diego, Musgrove has thrived, having already thrown the first no-hitter in franchise history. He has also yielded just one earned run in his first 19 innings in a Padres uniform.

To pick up Musgrove’s two affordable remaining years of team control, the Padres again sent away a bunch of non-elite prospects (Hudson Head, Drake Fellows, David Bednar and Omar Cruz). The only major leaguer they said goodbye to was Joey Lucchesi, whom the Mets acquired in the three-team deal. Like going from Davies to Darvish, Musgrove gives the Padres an obvious improvement over Lucchesi.

All said, the Padres acquired two front-line starters and another who may be turning into one while moving only a single star prospect (Patino). So, even in spite of dumping double-digit prospects in these deals, the Padres’ farm system is still pretty loaded. In fact, according to MLB.com, it’s the game’s sixth-best system – one that still boasts four top-100 players in lefty MacKenzie Gore (No. 6), shortstop CJ Abrams (No. 8), Campusano (No. 45) and outfielder Robert Hassell III (No. 62).

Along with finding outside starting pitching, taking care of key inside business was among the primary items on the Padres’ offseason checklist. They and the face of their franchise, 22-year-old shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., made it clear entering the winter that they wanted to hammer out a contract extension. Tatis wasn’t on track to reach arbitration until after 2022 or become a free agent until the end of the 2024 season, but the Padres weren’t going take a chance on losing him in his mid-20s. Instead, in late February, they succeeded in locking up Tatis into his mid-30s.

The agreement with Tatis is historic – a 14-year, $340MM pact that shattered Mike Trout’s previous record guarantee of $144MM for a pre-arb player. It’s also the second $300MM-plus contract the Padres have doled out over the past couple years, as they previously signed third baseman Manny Machado to a decade-long deal in free agency. The club now has the left side of its infield under wraps with two superstar-caliber players for the foreseeable future.

The rotation improvements and the Tatis extension represented the offseason heavy lifting for the Padres, but they were active in other areas. Most notably, they signed former Korea Baseball Organization standout Ha-Seong Kim to a four-year, $28MM guarantee with a $5.5MM posting fee paid to the Kiwoom Heroes. Kim isn’t an upgrade over Tatis, Machado or second baseman Jake Cronenworth, but the team felt it was a worthwhile risk to spend on a versatile 25-year-old whom many regard as a top-1o0 prospect.

The Kim signing wasn’t the last of the Padres’ depth-bolstering moves in free agency. A few weeks after they won the Kim sweepstakes, the Padres re-upped Jurickson Profar on a three-year, $21MM guarantee. The contract includes a pair of opt-outs, so if Profar plays well enough this year or next, he could elect to return to free agency. For at least another year, though, he’ll continue to give the Padres someone who can play multiple positions and offer league-average or slightly better offense at a reasonable annual cost. Profar’s fourth on the Padres in plate appearances this year, and he has already lined up at four spots (first, second and both corner outfield positions).

The bullpen was also a matter of some offseason importance for the Padres, who faced the losses of relievers Trevor Rosenthal and Kirby Yates in free agency. San Diego showed interest in bringing both back, but they departed for higher paydays elsewhere. The Padres seem to have dodged bullets in both cases, as Rosenthal underwent thoracic outlet surgery earlier this month and Yates had a Tommy John procedure in March.

Rosenthal and Yates signed for a combined $16.5MM in guarantees, but the Padres spent far less on their relief corps, inking Mark Melancon and Keone Kela for a total of $4.2MM. It’s early, but the always steady Melancon has been a bargain for the Padres so far. He’s 5-for-5 in save opportunities and hasn’t allowed a walk or a run in six innings of one-hit ball. Likewise, Kela has been flawless in the runs allowed department, having surrendered none in 5 2/3 frames. The hard-throwing Kela had an impressive three-year stretch of run prevention and strikeouts with the Rangers and Pirates from 2017-19, but a positive COVID-19 test and forearm troubles held him to two innings last season. If healthy, though, he also has a chance to end up as a steal for San Diego. So far, so good.

Although it’s only mid-April, the Padres look as if they’re going to be a force again this year, thanks in no small part to Preller’s offseason moves. So impressed with his work, Padres ownership decided in February to upgrade Preller’s title from general manager to president of baseball ops and extend him through 2026. It appears the Padres are in capable hands with Preller at the helm, but how would you grade their offseason?

(Poll link for app users)

Giants Place Johnny Cueto On 10-Day IL

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APRIL 16: The Giants expect Cueto to miss two starts, according to manager Gabe Kapler (via Slusser).

APRIL 15: The Giants will place right-hander Johnny Cueto on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 1 lat strain, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report. They’ll make a corresponding move when it becomes official on Friday.

This will temporarily disrupt what has been an impressive rebound effort from Cueto, a former ace who didn’t pitch well in either of the previous two seasons. The 35-year-old has turned back the clock in the early going, though, having recorded a 1.80 ERA with a roughly average strikeout percentage (24.3) and a terrific walk rate (5.4 percent) through 20 innings. Cueto has also allowed just 13 hits – including three during a scoreless, 5 2/3-frame outing against his former team, the Reds, on Wednesday. He had to leave that start after only 68 pitches because of his injury.

The Giants do have a ready-made replacement for Cueto in free-agent pickup Alex Wood. The left-hander is scheduled to make his debut Sunday after missing the first couple weeks of 2021 while recovering from back surgery. Wood was supposed to bump Logan Webb to the bullpen, but both now figure to take spots alongside Kevin Gausman, Anthony DeSclafani and Aaron Sanchez in the Giants’ rotation.

Cardinals Select Scott Hurst

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The Cardinals announced that they’ve selected outfielder Scott Hurst from their alternate site and optioned fellow outfielder Lane Thomas. To make room for Hurst on their 40-man roster, the Cardinals transferred right-hander Dakota Hudson from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL. Hudson underwent Tommy John surgery last September, so he is unlikely to pitch this season.

The 25-year-old Hurst, a third-round pick of the Cardinals in 2017, will reach the majors for the first time. He excelled at the lower levels in his draft year and in 2018, when FanGraphs wrote, “Hurst, who is fine in CF and above-average in the corners, might hit enough to play everyday but his likely ceiling looks more like a reserve OF.”

Hurst advanced to Double-A for the first time in 2019, the most recent minor league season. He saw his numbers nosedive between that level and High-A, where he combined for a .217/.287/.299 line in 405 plate appearances.

Offseason In Review: Atlanta Braves

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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)

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