Seemingly, every single season since Alex Anhopoulos took over as Atlanta’s GM, the Braves’ starting rotation has been shorthanded going into the postseason.
Even during the magical World Series run, the club dealt with injuries to the rotation. Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton, Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, and others have all been either injured, sick, or not on regular rest coming into the past three postseasons.
It’s something that the Braves have become accustomed to when talking about October baseball. Last offseason, Anthopoulos invested considerable assets into the rotation, signing Reynaldo Lopez and trading for Chris Sale to join Spencer Strider, Max Fried, and Charlie Morton.
In a perfect world, it was the perfect offseason, but as we’ve learned, it’s better to just abide by Murphy’s Law. When it comes to Atlanta’s rotation, what can go wrong, will go wrong. I say it all the time, hope is not a strategy. Alex Anthopoulos has to overkill the rotation this offseason.
Strider, Schwellenbach, Lopez, and Sale are returning, but it would be a shock if all four made it through the season healthy. Strider is coming off internal brace surgery. Schwellenbach has never pitched a full season’s worth of innings. Lopez already dealt with fatigue issues last season, and Sale has notoriously dealt with injuries the past few years.
Just bringing back Charlie Morton isn’t enough. Alex Anthopoulos should bring in multiple reliable starters. They don’t have to be frontline guys, but Atlanta needs to add at least two quality starters. What’s the worst that happens? The Braves have too many starters? Oh no, Reynaldo Lopez can just move to a multi-inning reliever role.
It’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Alex Anthopoulos needs to overkill the Braves rotation.
—
Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
You must log in to post a comment.