While Braves fans anxiously await Alex Anthopoulos’ next move, I imagine Atlanta’s GM ponders to himself, “Guys, relax.”

The club, as currently constructed, is already among the best in baseball. Of course, there have to be additions because there’s just no way Anthopoulos rolls with Michael Harris II as the only returning starter in the outfield from last year.

The rotation and bullpen could use some TLC as well, but the outfield is the facet in most desperate need of an addition. It seems ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle believes the same, at least he doesn’t think anyone should be concerned about the Braves rotation.

Doolittle ranked each team’s starting rotation, and the Braves ranked 3rd, behind only the Mariners and Phillies. The overall rank was 3rd, which was the composite score of four different criteria — stars (2nd), depth (16th), length (4th), and dominance (3rd) — for a rotation index of 111.2.

“We don’t know when Strider will be back, though the late update indicated that Opening Day was probably out of reach. By the end of the season, however, he and Sale might comprise the best one-two rotation combination of any club entering the playoffs,” Doolittle writes.

“The depth is held back by cautious innings projections for Strider, but also because there’s a dropoff after the top of the group. Anderson is just a placeholder and an unlikely one despite his name recognition. Others could easily jump over him on the depth chart and raise the ceiling of this group.

In particular, keep an eye on AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep. Both have work to do in turning potential into production, but the talent is there. The Braves are one team that could stand to bolster its depth from the pool of dangling free agents.”

Depth concerns are something Braves Country is all too familiar with in recent memory. Even in their World Series campaign, Atlanta was shorthanded going into October, which has been a consistent theme in each postseason to follow.

The Braves could absolutely use another starter because if trends continue, they’ll once again face injuries to the rotation going into the 2025 playoffs. Hope isn’t a strategy. Alex Anthopoulos can’t hope that Chris Sale is healthy for a full season, Reynaldo Lopez isn’t hampered by fatigue, Spencer Schwellenbach is able to pitch a full season’s worth of innings, and Spencer Strider returns to form immediately.

If everything goes perfectly, the Braves will once again have one of the best rotations in baseball, but very rarely do things go according to plan when it comes to pitchers.