The Atlanta Braves are looking to win their seventh-straight National League East title in 2024 as they chase their first World Series title since 2021. The team that won an MLB-best 104 games in 2023 returned much of its roster while also adding some strong arms to its already top-of-the-line rotation. A group that featured the two Cy Young candidates in Spencer Strider and Max Fried, a steady hand in Charlie Morton, and an All-Star in Bryce Elder added more powerful arms over the offseason.
This was a unit that finished third in team strikeouts and eighth in ERA+ while rolling a patchwork rotation due to injury. Did the additions of Chris Sale and Reynaldo López to the returning depth of the rotation make it the best in baseball?
Chris Sale was the flashiest addition that the Braves made over the offseason. He posted a 4.30 ERA over 102 2/3 innings while striking out 125 and walking only 29 as he made his return from injury.
The strikeout maestro has brought some instant juice to the rotation.
"He looked terrific [in his first start of Spring Training], and this is what the Braves were hoping to see," McAuley said about the biggest new addition to the roster. "He's a guy, from his intensity level to the credibility that he brings as one of the annual Cy Young award contenders, a Major League strikeout leader, a World Series champion and the most intense competitor that you'll find."
He's only 25 pitches into his Braves tenure, but he flashed a mid-nineties fastball and combination slider that left batters looking silly in the box. At the very least, it's evidence as to why the front office was willing to invest in the soon-to-be 35-year-old starter.
"This was the kind of first impression that you wanted to see," he said. "I hate to get too excited over two innings, but if you were for Chris Sale to come out and say, 'hey, I'm here and I'm healthy and this is what it looks like.' That first start went a long way for me."
The Braves also added a quality depth piece in Reynaldo López who could find himself sliding into the fifth starter spot. He hasn't been in that role since 2020, but he's posted a 3.02 ERA over 129 appearances (131 1/3 innings) for the White Sox, Angels and Guardians the past two years.
The 29-year-old could be considered a leader in the clubhouse for that role.
"I think that in the early-going, they're intrigued by Reynaldo López that he might get that shot," McAuley said about the fifth starter spot. "[But] camp doesn't break today and with López coming in on a three-year deal, $10 million per year, he's a great bullpen piece. At that price, he could end up playing a huge role for the Braves as it is."
He'll have that opportunity and now the Braves will find out if he can fit into that slot.
If Lopez doesn't end up being that fifth starter, he'll find a home in the bullpen and the Braves will have plenty of options. They can turn to a reigning National League All-Star in Bryce Elder or one of their top prospects in A.J. Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep.
"I don't think [the Braves] are going in to and through a season where we're not going to use a bunch of different starting pitchers," McAuley said about the wide array of options the team has. "Last year showed us that, and so did the year before."
No other rotation can boast both the elite depth and top-end talent that the Braves can. They're five-plus deep with potential studs and the envy of Major League Baseball.
