The Braves head into the offseason with more than a few roster questions, and health is right there with them. Atlanta still has to figure out shortstop, rotation depth and what comes next in left field with Jurickson Profar. But there’s also a separate layer to this winter: which injured arms and bats can realistically be counted on when 2027 arrives.
By the time the season ended, the injury pileup had eased some in Atlanta. Still, the year left behind a messy set of unknowns, and the latest updates only give a partial picture. Some players are trending toward returns, others are long shots, and a few are hanging in that uneasy middle ground where nothing is certain yet.
The free-agent group gives the Braves two names to sort through first: Joe Jimenez and Martin Perez.
Jimenez has been working back from a knee problem that has been career-threatening for much of the last two years. That makes him hard to project, even though everyone knows what he can be when he’s right.
Perez, meanwhile, finished the season on the injured list with a back issue and was dealing with it during the postseason as well. Atlanta could decide to bring him back, but after the way his 2026 season ended, penciling him into a rotation spot feels risky.
Under contract, the picture is just as uneven.
Hurston Waldrep looks like the safest bet to miss next season. He had Tommy John surgery in mid-September, and there’s no real reason to think the Braves will push him back early in 2027.
Then come the real question marks: Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider.
Strider is trying to avoid another surgery, but he’s been sidelined since June by elbow inflammation and never made enough progress to get back before the year wrapped up. Schwellenbach’s path is even stranger.
He had a screw inserted in his broken elbow in August, and while there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready next season, Atlanta is not closing the door on him either. It’s a recovery that still leaves plenty of room for change.
Joey Wentz is coming back from a torn ACL, though he could also be in danger of becoming a non-tender candidate. Bryce Elder had arthroscopic knee surgery, but he was moving toward a relatively quick return before the Braves were knocked out of the playoffs, so a spot in spring training looks likely.
Reynaldo Lopez is the last big name in the group, and his throwing shoulder is still the issue to watch. If he’s back for the start of 2027, a move to the bullpen might be the answer. But it wouldn’t be a surprise if the shoulder proves troublesome enough that surgery becomes the next step.
In Other News...
Braves Left Field Problem Just Made This Lineup Decision Bigger
Atlantas left-field picture has already changed once with the arrival of Lane Thomas from the Royals, and the move now looks even more important as the Braves sort through the fallout from Jurickson Profars situation. Thomas is expected to handle left field in a platoon role with Mike Yastrzemski, giving the club at least one more established option while it tries to steady a spot that suddenly feels more unsettled than it did a few days ago.
The Braves still have reason to keep scanning the market if they want more than a patchwork answer, and that is where the conversation has turned toward Japanese player Teruaki Sato. He would be a major swing for a lineup that could use impact and certainty on the outfield corners, and the fit is only getting easier to imagine as the club weighs how aggressively to address the opening in left. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Bullpen Miss Looked Bad Early And Unraveled Even Faster
When the Braves brought in Joel Payamps this winter, it looked like the kind of low-risk bullpen bet teams make every offseason, hoping a veteran arm can steady the middle innings. Payamps arrived after electing free agency, carrying the resume of a journeyman who had bounced around the league but also flashed a real breakthrough in 2023 before his production slipped in the seasons that followed.
The fit never really took hold in Atlanta. Payamps got into 12 games for the Braves in 2026 and struggled badly enough that the club moved on quickly, designating him for assignment on May 1. For a bullpen that needed help, it was a miss that unraveled almost as soon as it began. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox May Be Letting A Key Rotation Piece Walk
Sonny Grays stint with the Red Sox appears headed toward a short shelf life, with Boston unlikely to pick up the mutual option on his contract. For Atlanta, that immediately makes him one of the more interesting names to watch on the pitching market, especially with the Braves looking for rotation help and any fit that trims down the travel from his Tennessee home carrying obvious appeal.
Boston does have other pitchers it expects to be part of its 2027 rotation, so Gray is not the only arm shaping the clubs long view. Even so, his path beyond this season remains unsettled, and the Braves could be positioned to benefit if the veteran right-hander reaches free agency and starts weighing where he wants the next chapter of his career to land. [Read more 🡒]