Bolstering Starting Rotation Becomes Priority For Braves

After spending less money on free agents than any of the 30 big-league clubs last winter, the Atlanta Braves are considering changing that policy.

According to president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, pitching will be a priority this winter after the Braves were defeated in a four-game National League Division Series for the second year in a row.

Pitching injuries to Charlie Morton and Kyle Wright, starters sidelined at an inopportune time, and Max Fried, the erstwhile ace whose blister problem forced a longer-than-expected layoff, left Atlanta with Spencer Strider, the league’s strikeout champ and leading winner, plus Question Mark and the Mysterians.

Strider pitched well twice but the vaunted Atlanta offense, which hit a record-tying 307 home runs, suddenly stalled just when it was needed most. The team gave him one run of support.

Fried struggled in his Game 2 start, though the Braves eventually won it late, but Bryce Elder was battered in the third inning of the third game, a 10-2 Philadelphia romp that included six home runs.

It was the second straight October that Atlanta entered a Division Series with doubts about two starters. In 2022, it was Strider (oblique injury) and Fried (stomach virus) who were compromised. This year, it was Fried and Morton, both with finger injuries, in addition to Wright.

Braves manager Brian Snitker labored over the choice of Elder to start the pivotal third game of the best-of-five playoff series, then tied at a game apiece. But he had little choice.

After making the NL All-Star team, along with fellow starter Strider and six other Braves, Elder was unreliable during the last two months. And the combination of rehabbing right-hander Michael Soroka and rookies Dylan Dodd, Jared Shuster, and AJ Smith-Shawver – trying to fill in for the injured Wright – posted a bloated 6.10 earned run average in 29 starts.

The Braves tried 16 different starters while trying to replace Fried, who missed three months with forearm tightness before the blister problem popped up in September, and Wright, whose spring shoulder inflammation has just been addressed by surgery that will cost him all of 2024.

Rookie starters Alan Winans and Darius Vines showed flashes of potential but not enough to keep Anthopoulos from sitting on the sidelines during free agent season for the second time in a row.

He might not nab Blake Snell, the prized San Diego southpaw widely considered the front-runner for the NL’s Cy Young Award, but could pursue erstwhile Cardinal ace Jack Flaherty or one-time Yankees sensation Luis Severino.

Much depends on the decision of Morton, who turns 40 next month, whether to return or retire. The Braves hold a $20 million option that they might decline, hoping to sign him at a lower rate.

The 6’5″ right-hander lives in Florida and has been adamant about pitching for a team near his home.

Even if Morton comes back for a probable farewell season, the 30-year-old Fried can leave via free agency next fall. The Braves would love to extend his deal, which pays him $13,500,000, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, but the appeal of returning to his native Southern California could be too strong.

Any team would welcome Fried, runner-up for last year’s NL Cy Young trophy, with open arms.

Despite the pitching problems, the 2023 Braves won 104 games, most in the majors, by obliterating opponents with a record .501 team slugging percentage, three 40-homer men, four 100-RBI producers, and more home runs than any team in National League history.

Despite the pitching shorts, they still won their sixth straight division crown – the longest active streak in the majors – and finished 14 games ahead of second-place Philadelphia, beating the Phils five out of six at Citizens Bank Park and eight of 13 overall.

Like the Los Angeles Dodgers, the other NL team that earned a bye from the first-round Wild Card Series, the Braves grew restless and rusty during the five-day layoff from the rigors of daily competition. The Dodgers did even worse in the Division Series, losing all three games against the underrated Arizona Diamondbacks.

After losing star infielders Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson to free agency over the past two winters, Atlanta is likely to have a minimum of free-agent departures this time around.

The biggest could be left-fielder Eddie Rosario, whose $9 million club option might be rejected after his disappointing season (.240, 21 homers). Platoon partner Kevin Pillar, whose contract has expired, is also likely to leave.

Versatile Vaughn Grissom, coming off a .330 season in Triple-A, is a possible in-house solution although he is primarily a middle infielder.

As for pitching help, the Braves would benefit if injured pitchers Ian Anderson, Huascar Ynoa, and Tyler Matzek return from Tommy John elbow surgery next season. Anderson and Matzek, along with Fried, were the primary pitching heroes of the team’s 2021 world championship.

Manager Brian Snitker, at 68 the oldest pilot not named Dusty Baker, will return next year, according to Anthopoulos. Snitker, on organization man originally hired by Hank Aaron, has led the Braves to 205 victories over the past two years – not to mention the 2021 World Series crown.