Coming into the 2024 campaign, there were a lot of questions about the Braves rotation. The belief was that Max Fried had to be re-signed because there was no stability outside of Spencer Strider. That’s no longer the case.
The Braves should feel more than comfortable letting Max Fried walk in free agency, and Strider returning is only one factor. The club’s ace was out for pretty much the entire season, but the hope he is ready around Opening Day of 2025.
In his last full season, Strider led MLB in strikeouts and the National League in FIP. He’s among the best pitchers in baseball, and Tommy John surgery is no longer what it used to be. The Braves should be getting a horse back, and he’ll be surrounded by a wealth of talent, whether Max Fried returns to Atlanta or not.
Chris Sale will soon be named the Cy Young of the National League. He is coming off the best campaign of his career, in which he became the first NL Triple Crown winner since Clayton Kershaw did it more than a decade ago. Sale led baseball in win percentage, ERA, FIP, ERA+, and SO/9. That’s Hall of Fame stuff from the old man.
Reynaldo Lopez’s acquisition went about as perfectly as Alex Anthopoulos could’ve anticipated as well. In his first All-Star campaign, Lopez had a sub-2.00 ERA to go along with a 1.106 WHIP. His stamina as a starting pitcher is a concern after spending a half decade as a reliever, but the club did a good job pacing him and will likely do the same in 2025.
More than anything, Spencer Schwellenbach’s emergence is really the difference-maker. The rookie emerged as a superstar and finished the 2024 campaign with a 3.35 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 5.52 SO/W, and 1.043 WHIP across 21 starts and 123.2 innings in Atlanta.
What’s even more impressive is how Schwellenbach finished the season. In his final 12 starts, he posted a 2.47 ERA, including a 7.0 inning, one-run gem against the Mets in his final appearance. This is a pitcher who has virtually no experience and is pitching at an elite level. He did not pitch in Atlanta’s system the first year and only threw 65 innings in 2023. Schwellenbach then only threw 45 innings in the minors this season before his promotion to the big leagues. His future is as bright as any young piece in Atlanta. Spencer Schwellnebach, more than any other factor, should ease Braves Country’s concerns of the rotation in a post-Max Fried world.
On top of those four horses, Charlie Morton could re-sign on a team-friendly one-year deal. There are other buy-low free agents that can bolster the backend of the Braves rotation, and there’s the next crop of young Braves biding their time on the farm — A.J. Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep, etc.
The Braves would love to have Max Fried back, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he parts ways with the organization.
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Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire
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