Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said in November that starting pitching is one of the areas “we will focus on it” this winter, and throwers like Freddy Peralta, Zac Gallen, Chris Bassittagain Lucas Giolito have been linked to the team for the past few months. Except for a few veterans on minor league deals (eg Martin Perez, Carlos Carrasco), however, Atlanta has yet to strengthen its rotation in any meaningful way, and the internal mix has taken its toll since then. Spencer Schwellenbach will begin the year on the 60-day injured list due to elbow inflammation.
Speaking to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Chad Bishop and other reporters yesterday, Anthopoulos said his club is still searching for “for the start of the playoffs,” as in a pitcher who can comfortably be penciled into the postseason rotation right now.You can always make a place to start the front row, right? That is one asset or one asset in this game that is not restricted. If you have five guys and you have someone going in the top three, you make room for those guys. That was our goal all along,” Anthopoulos said.
Since the Braves haven’t found anyone who presents a clear upgrade to the current starters, the team is standing strong, as Anthopoulos feels comfortable with at least his top four starters in the rotation. Anthopoulos name Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo Lopezagain Grant Holmes by saying “four boys [who] placed in our circulation,” and with Schwellenbach sidelined, the team will have a variety of interior players such as Perez, Carrasco, Hurston Waldrep, Bryce Elderor Didier Fuentes all competing for the role of fifth starter.
The situation remains fluid if Anthopoulos can get an acceptable trade for a pitcher that raises the ceiling of the rotation, but there is enough depth on hand that the PBO isn’t interested in adding another deep starter just to shore up the floor. That’s because Anthopoulos is loyal to his current starters and is excited to see what they can bring to the table following an injury-riddled season for most of the team. The health uncertainty that centered around Lopez and Holmes in particular has dissipated to some extent, Anthopoulos said, so the rotation needs that seemed necessary in November are less important as Spring Training continues.
“A lot has been removed now [from November],” Anthopoulos said.We’re sitting here in the middle of February with those guys directly, and we just know more about Holmes and Lopez, who we’ve been watching all offseason..”
Shoulder surgery limited Lopez to one start in 2025. Holmes pitched over 115 innings (starting 21 of 22 games) last season, but his year ended in late July due to a minor UCL tear, and Holmes is trying to come out of the injury without Tommy John or internal surgery. With Sale and Strider also having significant injury histories, adding even a deeper arm would still prove to be a worthwhile endeavor for the Braves, especially since finding a leadoff arm is always difficult.
Anthopoulos has been known to swing surprising trades, so we can’t close the door on the Braves getting a dominant arm. That said, it’s especially tricky at this early stage of the season to think about pitchers who might both be realistically available in trade talks, and who might be the type of postseason-caliber starters Anthopoulos is looking for. It is also fair to assume that Anthopoulos is taking part in some sportsmanship by downplaying his club’s need for a back-rotation type, if he is in talks with rival clubs about such types of pots.
Of the aforementioned names on the list targeting Atlanta, Giolito is still available, but Gallen has re-signed with the Diamondbacks, Bassitt signed with the Orioles, and the Brewers traded Peralta to the Mets. Gallen and Bassitt just joined their new teams a few days ago, and it’s unknown if the Braves were still pursuing either of those pins until the call.
