ATLANTA — Now that the Braves have erased their need for an outfielder by signing Jurickson Profar, will they bolster their pitching staff by adding a starter or reliever?
“There’s plenty of really good players that we like, a lot of them, through trade or free agency,” president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said. “But you’re trying to get the right fit. It won’t surprise me if we’re still talking to people into Spring Training. It’s the way things are going. We’re almost into the month of February. So we’ll continue to see if something comes up that makes sense.”
At the right price, Nathan Eovaldi might have made sense for the rotation. But would Atlanta have then had the financial flexibility necessary to strengthen its outfield with Profar? Had the Braves doctors not been concerned with Jeff Hoffman’s shoulder, he might have signed a five-year deal worth between $45 million and $48 million, and we wouldn’t have seen all those great jovial social media memes of Anthopoulos chilling on the beach.
While it might not have seemed like Atlanta was doing much over the past couple of months, Anthopoulos and his staff likely feel like they have worked harder than they did during the many winters that they erased needs earlier.
So, where might the club go from here? A source revealed that the Braves and Cubs are among the teams pursuing free-agent reliever Ryne Stanek. Stanek served as an opener for the Rays during the 2018 and ’19 seasons, but he would most likely best fit as a traditional reliever with Atlanta.
Anthopoulos is willing to add some insurance to a rotation that should be strong as long as Spencer Strider, Chris Sale, Reynaldo López and Spencer Schwellenbach stay healthy. But he’s not going to add just to add. In other words, he would likely only add a starter who would be a desirable option to make a postseason start.
Or one that is at least a considerably better option than Grant Holmes and Ian Anderson, a pair of out-of-options hurlers who stand as the favorites to begin the season as Atlanta’s fourth and fifth starters, since Strider likely won’t return from right elbow surgery until the end of April.
“We’re not locked into one area,” Anthopoulos said. “If there’s a good starter deal, we’ll do it. Trade, free-agent signing or a bullpen deal, the same way. But we’re not close to anything. We’re still having conversations about both.”
If the season were to start today, here is how the pitching staff might look:
Rotation: Sale, López, Schwellenbach, Holmes, Anderson
Bullpen: Raisel Iglesias, Pierce Johnson, Aaron Bummer, Dylan Lee, Daysbel Hernandez, Angel Perdomo, Anderson Pilar and TBD
You could put Amos Willingham or Jordan Weems in that last bullpen spot, but knowing that it could be filled by Holmes or Anderson once Strider returns, you likely wouldn’t give it to a pitcher like Weems, who doesn’t have options. So, for now, let’s just expect that Jesse Chavez/Josh Tomlin role to be filled in April by a pitcher with options.
