We are less than a week away from Opening Day in the MLB, and as the Atlanta Braves put their final roster together it’s hard to see any chinks in the defending World Series Champions armor. Even though the Braves lost arguably the best first baseman in baseball in Freddie Freeman, they got the next best home run hitting Gold Glove winning, lefty first baseman in Matt Olson. With an infield of Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, and Austin Riley you not only have an infield in which every player hit at least twenty-five home runs last year, but you also have an infield with multiple Gold Glove award winners. The infield is certainly no problem offensively or defensively for the Braves, so what about the outfield?
While the gloves in the outfield aren’t as good as the ones in the infield, there are still no slouches out there. The Braves brought back NLCS MVP aka Dodger killer Eddie Rosario back, and Rosario along with Adam Duvall and Marcell Ozuna will be a solid defensive outfield but they will do their damage at the plate. Oh and not to mention the best young player, maybe even just the best player, in baseball is coming back sometime in May to give not only the outfield a boost, but certainly the Braves lineup a boost as well in Ronald Acuna Jr. Behind the plate making the calls will be Travis d’Arnaud again, and he is a solid catcher whether he’s standing at the plate or squatting behind it.
Alright, we’ve covered the position players, so what about the guys who will be taking the mound? As far as starting pitchers goes the Braves have three go to guys in Max Fried, who will be the opening day starter, Charlie Morton, and Ian Anderson. The fourth and fifth spots in the rotation are still to be determined, but will be filled by young guys for now such as flame throwing Spencer Strider, Huascar Ynoa, and/or Kyle Wright. Oh, and let's not forget another big gun waiting in the wings for the Braves in Mike Soroka who is recovering from a torn achilles.
Last, but certainly not least the bullpen aka The Night Shift, aka the best bullpen in baseball that somehow got better in the offseason. The Atlanta Braves Bullpen was a vital part in the Braves World Series run last year, and General Manager Alex Anthopolous decided to hire a new guy to the night shift that you might’ve heard of in Kenley Jansen. With Tyler Matzek, Luke Jackson, A.J. Minter, Will Smith, and Kenley Jansen in your bullpen, you shouldn’t have too many issues there.
Now, although it may seem like it, the 2022 Atlanta Braves team is not perfect nor flawless. Jon Chuckery had Atlanta Braves reporter for SB Nation and Managing Editor for Battery Power, Kris Willis on his show tonight, and when Chuck asked him if there was any weakness in this Braves team, Kris did say the “position player depth” is an issue for the Braves right now. Kris also said “If you lose one or two guys that you are counting on for any length of time it’s going to be hard replacing them.” However, Kris did also say that he doesn’t think the bench is “quite as important now that the DH is in the National League…”, so if there is one place to be thin the bench is an acceptable place to be thin at.
All in all, yes the Braves need to figure out who their fourth and fifth starters are and maybe their bench is a little thin, but as Jon Chuckery said earlier in his show today “Those are first world problems.” This Atlanta Braves team is stacked, and that’s why they are the defending World Series Champions, and that’s why they have everything they need to run it back this year as well.