The Braves’ October rotation took a hit on Thursday when Martín Pérez was placed on the injured list with lower back inflammation, wiping him out of the NL Wild Card Series and, if Atlanta advances, the NLDS as well.
That leaves a major hole in a spot that had been trending toward Pérez. For weeks, the biggest postseason question around Atlanta had been who would get the ball in a potential Game 3. Chris Sale had already locked down the first game, Tyler Mahle had separated himself as the favorite for the second, and Pérez looked like the likeliest option if the series turned into a winner-take-all showdown.
Now that plan is off the table.
Pérez, 35, was one of the key reasons the Braves were able to clinch the division before the final week of the season, even if the underlying numbers never looked especially clean. In 30 games this year, including 26 starts, he logged 142 innings with a 3.04 ERA and 4.31 FIP. Atlanta went 15-11 in his starts.
Without him, the Braves have to sort out who takes that critical Game 3 role if the series reaches it. Grant Holmes is one option, while another is a bullpen game designed to keep a playoff-caliber offense from getting comfortable.
The timing makes things even tougher. Even if Pérez needed only the minimum IL stint of 15 days, and even if that were backdated as far as the rules allow, he still would not be ready by the start of the NLDS. So if Atlanta moves on, he still won’t be available.
With the playoffs less than a week away, the Braves are suddenly dealing with another rotation injury at exactly the wrong time.
In Other News...
Braves Could Dangle Big Names To Fix A Roster Problem
The Braves have already wrapped up the NL East, but the work ahead in Atlanta is likely to be less about celebrating the division title and more about figuring out how to smooth out a roster issue that has lingered beneath the surface. With an offseason in front of them, the front office could have to weigh whether the cleanest path to improvement means moving from a position of depth or from a few recognizable names who still carry real value in the market.
Alex Lodise, Cam Caminiti, Eric Hartman, Ozzie Albies, Spencer Strider and Reynaldo Lopez are among the players mentioned as possible trade candidates, and each brings a different mix of recent performance and contract considerations that could shape how other clubs view them. For the Braves, the calculation is less about attaching a label to any one player and more about deciding which pieces are most useful in solving the problem at hand without weakening the core that got them back to the top of the division. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Leave Cincinnati With One Big October Concern
The Braves spent a weekend in Cincinnati with little left to decide in the standings, but plenty to monitor as October approaches. Ronald Acua Jr. left with a shin contusion, though the early tests came back clean, and Atlanta also got a mixed bag on the field with a shutout loss, a narrow extra-innings win and another close defeat. There were bright spots along the way, including work from pitchers JR Ritchie and Chris Sale, plus contributions from Matt Olson and Austin Riley, but the bigger picture was less about the record than about how the group is holding up.
For a club that already has its division and postseason position locked in, the final tune-ups are about health and rhythm, and Acuas status now sits at the center of that conversation. The Braves do not need to chase anything in the standings, which makes every late-game decision and every awkward step on the bases feel a little more important than usual, especially with October closing in and the margin for error shrinking in a different way. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Deadline Plan Suddenly Looks Risky For One Clear Reason
The Braves went into the trade deadline looking to shore up a staff that had been thinned by injuries, and they came away with help in both the rotation and the bullpen. Their starting-pitching addition brought a 1.99 ERA over nine starts, while Brent Suter arrived with a 1.92 mark across 24.2 innings, giving Atlanta a pair of useful arms for a stretch run that has already demanded more from the pitching staff than planned.
Still, the deadline moves did not solve the bigger problem hanging over the roster. Atlantas offense has been inconsistent, and the rotation behind the top three options remains awfully light with Bryce Elder and Martin Perez sidelined. That leaves manager Walt Weiss trying to piece together a postseason plan with limited major-league experience on the mound, a reality that makes the Braves deadline strategy look a lot more precarious than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]