“For a team with championship aspirations, the Braves’ rotation has a ton of question marks following the free-agent departures of Max Fried and Charlie Morton. If reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale and 2024 All-Star Reynaldo López can replicate last year’s surprising success, Spencer Schwellenbach can build on his strong rookie season and Spencer Strider can make a healthy return from right elbow surgery at some point in the first half, Atlanta could have one of the best starting staffs in the game.”

Harrigan is right. Despite losing Max Fried and Charlie Morton in free agency, the Braves still boast one of the most impressive starting staffs in baseball. Chris Sale was the best pitcher in the National League. Reynaldo Lopez finished with a sub-2.00 ERA, and Spencer Schwellenbach is primed to break out as a frontline starter. That’s not even mentioning Spencer Strider’s return to Atlanta.

If everything goes right, the Braves won’t miss a beat. However, as Harrigan notes, that’s a lot of ifs. Lopez, Sale, and Schwellenbach had fairly healthy years, but each has concerns going into 2025, and Strider is coming off internal brace surgery. There’s reason to be worried.

“But those are some big ifs. Signing the best starter remaining on the free-agent market would allay those concerns and quell some of the criticism surrounding Atlanta’s quiet offseason, during which the team has subtracted a number of notable players while only adding outfielder Bryan De La Cruz. The Braves don’t typically pursue expensive free-agent starters, but Flaherty’s reported willingness to consider a short-term deal with a high average annual value could make him a financial fit for Atlanta.”

As Harrigan pointed out, a recent report from Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic suggesting that Flaherty is willing to take a shorter deal with a higher average annual value should put the free agent on the Braves’ radar.