It's hard to believe that the Atlanta Braves have been carried by their starting rotation after losing ace Spencer Strider. But that's exactly what has happened.
After a 2023 season in which the Braves tied the Major League Baseball single-season home run record, the offense has largely gone cold.
Defending National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. is out for the year with a torn ACL, while sluggers Austin Riley and Matt Olson have underperformed. If not for Marcell Ozuna's otherworldly contributions, this might be one of the worst offenses in the NL.
Meanwhile, the three-headed monster of Chris Sale, Max Fried, and Reynaldo López has carried the pitching staff, while 40-year-old Charlie Morton and rookie Spencer Schwellenbach have settled in at the back of the rotation.
It seems like the starting pitching is the most stable it's been all year. But there are mounting innings concerns lurking in the background, and according to MLB.com Braves reporter Mark Bowman, that could mean a trade is coming before the July 30 deadline.
"The rotation is one of the game’s strongest. But Spencer Schwellenbach could start to fatigue and there will be a need to monitor the workloads of Chris Sale and Reynaldo López as they attempt to complete their first full season as a starter since 2019," Bowman said.
Each of those three arms has a different reason for concern. Sale was injured at least once in every prior season since 2018. López had been a primary reliever from 2021-23. Schwellenbach only threw 110 minor league innings after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Those concerns also don't include Fried, who went on the injured list three times in 2023, or Morton, who has been durable but is approaching the twilight of his career.
According to Bowman, that all means it is "possible" general manager Alex Anthopoulos could pursue a starting pitcher at this season's trade deadline, despite the excellence of the Braves' rotation to date.
Of course, the market is expected to be tilted in favor of the sellers this season, so competition will be stiff for the top talent on the market. But if the Braves want to win a second ring in the 2020s, they might need to go out and land one more dependable arm.
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