After eight months of talk about the Braves’ pitching - or the lack of it - Atlanta’s season still came apart because the bats couldn’t get them into the NLCS. Even so, the way the club leaned on its bullpen was impossible to miss in the NLDS.
Ray Kerr and Dylan Dodd had to work as openers, and by the end of the series fatigue was already settling onto several arms. If the Braves had advanced, that problem was only going to get louder.
The harder part is that the winter doesn’t offer much relief. Tyler Mahle, who was a surprise after arriving at the trade deadline, is headed for free agency.
Martin Perez is, too. There’s still plenty of uncertainty around Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider, neither of whom should be counted on for much of anything right now, and Hurston Waldrep is set to miss all of next season after Tommy John surgery.
That leaves Chris Sale as the one obvious anchor. Beyond him, the picture gets murky fast.
Sale sits alone at the top of the list of likely 2027 rotation options. Right behind him are Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder, a pair the Braves can trust to cover innings and help win regular-season games, even if they shouldn’t be penciled in for October.
Then comes the next wave: four prospect arms who all got into games for Atlanta this season, though not all in the same way. Didier Fuentes was electric out of the bullpen and, by some measures, was the team’s second-best pitcher behind Sale.
Anthopoulos said plainly in his latest press conference that the organization sees him as a starter, and he’ll be stretched out in Spring Training. If he’s healthy, he’s expected to be in the Opening Day rotation.
AJ Smith-Shawver, JR Ritchie and Owen Murphy are all in the mix as well. Each has some upside.
Each will get a shot to compete for a job. None has been steady enough yet to call himself a rotation regular.
Schwellenbach and Strider occupy their own tier. Anthopoulos said the Braves can’t head into 2027 depending on either one, but there’s still hope that at least one of them stays healthy and matters.
Reynaldo Lopez is in a category of his own, mainly because it’s hard to know what the Braves are even planning for him. He’s owed $8 million next year, so unless he’s traded he likely remains on the roster, but the health and performance issues have piled up.
If he contributes, it may be as a long-relief option in low-leverage spots. He made this list only because he has started before.
There is still some upside in the group. Fuentes, especially, gives Atlanta a reason to be intrigued in a different role, and the Braves can still hope one of the prospects or injured arms breaks through. But hoping for the best has already proven risky.
The Braves need at least one frontline starter, and they need depth behind that. It won’t come cheap. Without it, they’re once again gambling on the best-case scenario - and if anything happens to Sale, the roster as it stands is in serious trouble.
In Other News...
Ronald Acuna Jr. Is Suddenly At Center Of A Braves Debate
Ronald Acua Jr.s recent postseason was a frustrating one, with his offense falling quiet in both the NLDS and the Wild Card rounds. For a player who has long sat at the center of Atlantas identity, that kind of October stretch naturally gets magnified, especially when the Braves are already navigating the kind of winter questions that come with another early exit.
Even so, any discussion around Acua is bigger than one rough postseason, because his contract situation gives Atlanta a layer of control that teams rarely enjoy with a star of his caliber. The debate now is less about what he has meant to the Braves than what his long-term place should look like as the organization weighs its options heading into the offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Offseason Reality Just Got Tougher For Alex Anthopoulos
The Braves are headed toward the 2027 offseason with some breathing room on paper, but not nearly as much as the raw expiring money suggests. About $59.4 million in player salaries is set to come off the books, yet roughly $25 million in salary increases for players already on the roster trims that cushion quickly, leaving Atlanta with only so much room to maneuver if payroll stays steady.
Alex Anthopoulos is still staring at a tricky balancing act, especially with money tied up in uncomfortable places. Jurickson Profar is due $15 million despite his suspension, and Spencer Striders $22 million salary remains on the books while he is injured, all of which adds to the pressure as the front office tries to plan for a market that may or may not be changing under a potential MLB salary cap. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Prospects Got A Brief AFL Chance To Show Something Monday
Only one of the three scheduled Arizona Fall League games got on the field Monday, and even that one was trimmed to seven innings, but it still gave a couple of Braves prospects a quick stage in a 6-2 Scottsdale Scorpions win over the Glendale Desert Dogs. For Atlanta, any Fall League action matters, especially when so much of the schedule can get squeezed by weather or other delays, because those extra innings and extra at-bats are part of why these assignments exist in the first place.
Isaiah Drake got the start in left field for Glendale before being pinch-hit for in the sixth inning, and Owen Carey took over in left to finish the game. In a day with limited chances around the league, both got a brief look in the outfield, the kind of small but useful exposure the Braves can still track as the Fall League moves along. [Read more 🡒]