The Braves made a splash by acquiring Matt Olson in a trade with the A’s and have made a series of moves in free agency to solidify a roster capable of repeating as World Series champions, but are they done retooling?
World Series Game 6 winner Max Fried will take the mound on Opening Day with Charlie Morton and Ian Anderson to follow, but the rest of the rotation isn’t as set in stone. The Braves will open up the season with 14 straight games before their first off day, and that leads 92.9 The Game’s Braves reporter Joe Patrick to believe that another arm could be added to the roster at some point.
“I think it’s most likely that, if the team makes an early trade, it’ll probably be for a pitcher that would slot into this rotation because they're going to need more numbers than they normally would coming into a season with Brian Snitker saying that they are going to go to a six-man rotation," Patrick said.
Huascar Ynoa and Kyle Wright will likely land starting roles, leaving the sixth spot open. If the Braves don’t acquire another pitcher, that sixth day may be an opener game unless Spencer Strider or Tucker Davidson get the nod.
Patrick says the possibility of bringing in additional position players isn't as likely at this point.
If you take a look at the current Braves depth chart on MLB.com, Orlando Arcia is currently listed as the backup 2B, 3B and SS. While this highlights a potential lack of depth in the infield, Patrick isn’t as concerned as he might’ve been in years past due to a critical rule change in the National League.
“When you have a DH, you don’t really utilize the bench nearly as much as you would typically because you down have pinch hitters coming in to hit for pitchers and things like that. So, you’re not really going to resort to those guys. So, it’ll be interesting to see how much Alex Anthopoplous—how many resources—he wants to devote to that part of the team," he said.
Patrick mentioned that less-proven players like Arcia, and Phil Gosselin will likely be the first players off the bench for the Braves infield.
We're officially less than a week away when the Braves will welcome the Cincinnati Reds to Trusit Park to open the 2022 season on Thursday.
