The offseason is starting to wind down, and the Braves still have one massive box left to check before Spring Training begins — adding another starting pitcher.

Unfortunately, the options are thinning out quickly. Outside of Framber Valdez, who is almost certainly out of Atlanta’s price range, there isn’t a true game-changing arm left on the free-agent market. On the trade front, many of the notable names are already gone, and the price tags required to land them were steep, involving packages the Braves likely couldn’t — or wouldn’t — match.

Maybe Atlanta settles for an innings-eating veteran with some upside, like Chris Bassitt, Lucas Giolito, or Justin Verlander. But it’s starting to feel increasingly possible that the Braves do nothing and roll with what they already have, a familiar approach under Alex Anthopoulos.

Which raises the obvious question: do the Braves actually need to invest more resources into the rotation?

If everything breaks perfectly, they might be fine. Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach form as strong a one-two punch as any in the league when healthy. The organization is hopeful Spencer Strider takes a significant step forward now that he’s another year removed from InternalBrace surgery. Reynaldo López and Grant Holmes reportedly feel great in their recoveries, and then there are two young arms with serious upside in Hurston Waldrep and JR Ritchie, both hoping to establish themselves as full-time major leaguers.

That’s seven legitimate options — and in a perfect world, any combination of them could play a meaningful role in a championship run. The problem is that every single one of them comes with major question marks, most notably when it comes to health.

Chris Sale hasn’t stayed healthy for a full season in nearly a decade. Spencer Schwellenbach has never logged a full professional workload. Spencer Strider may never be the same pitcher he once was. Reynaldo López has made just 26 starts over the last two seasons. Grant Holmes’ 2025 campaign was cut short by a UCL injury — always a red flag, even with positive offseason reports. And Waldrep and Ritchie remain completely unproven at the major-league level.

There’s undeniable upside here, but if one or two significant injuries hit, the entire season could unravel in a hurry.

These are the exact same conversations that were happening this time last year. The Braves chose to ignore them, and the results were disastrous. Not only did they miss the playoffs, they finished with a worse record than the Miami Marlins. It was a complete embarrassment — one that began in the offseason when Anthopoulos failed to address the rotation.

This isn’t an area that can continue to be ignored year after year. It’s a path the Braves have repeatedly chosen, and almost every season it has come back to bite them. If they decide to take that same route again, Alex Anthopoulos will have no one to blame but himself when this team is talking about the 2027 season in September for the second straight year.

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