For what feels like the millionth offseason in a row, the Braves have rotation concerns that Alex Anthopoulos will need to address this offseason.
Not only will Anthouplos have to potentially replace the innings that Max Fried and Charlie Morton gave in 2023, but he’ll also have to prepare for part of the 2025 season without Spencer Strider.
That also doesn’t even consider Chris Sale’s lengthy injury history, Reynaldo Lopez’s stamina issues, and Spencer Schwellenbach never pitching an entire season’s worth of innings.
The Braves will be in the market for a starting pitcher, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it were multiple, but part of the void is going to have to be filled by in-house guys. A.J. Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep are popular candidates among Braves fans, but Alex Anthopoulos is excited about an old postseason hero — Ian Anderson.
“Yeah, I mean, he didn’t have a great year in Gwinnett, he was fine,” Anthopoulos said when asked about how he views Anderson’s return from Tommy John surgery. “But I’m excited, now with a normal offseason, not rehabbing anymore, he can have a normal offseason, come into camp and compete for a job. He’s out of options. He’ll be stretched out in spring, and he’ll have an opportunity to make the team. But excited to see what he’ll look like after an offseason of not rehabbing, and just a normal offseason.”
There’s something to be said for having a normal offseason to prepare for a season. Just ask Chris Sale. The veteran finally came into a season healthy after battling injuries for the last handful of Winters. All he did was turn in a Cy Young campaign.
This past season, Anderson posted a 3.96 ERA over ten starts at Triple-A, with 53 strikeouts and 27 walks over 52.1 innings. That’s not exactly inspiring stuff, but let’s not forget who he was at his best.
Ian Anderson owns a 1.26 postseason ERA, including two no-run outings during the Braves 2021 World Series run, one of which was 5.0 scoreless innings in Game 5 against the Astros.
Of course, that was a long time ago. Since then, he’s struggled with consistency and has battled his way back from Tommy John surgery. There’s a long road back to where he once was as a pitcher, but the Braves GM is confident that Ian Anderson could potentially contribute in Atlanta next season.
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