Another week of Braves Spring Training in the books, which means it’s time for another Opening Day roster prediction. This will be my second-to-last version before the final edition next week. If you missed any of the previous tries, check out the links below.
- Braves Opening Day Roster Prediction (1.0)
- Braves Opening Day Roster Prediction (2.0)
- Braves Opening Day Roster Prediction (3.0)
- Chris Sale
- Reynaldo Lopez
- Spencer Schwellenbach
- Grant Holmes
- Ian Anderson
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I’m pretty close to calling this locked in. Something pretty detrimental would have to happen for me to change anything. Do I have a lot of confidence in Ian Anderson being a productive piece of the rotation once the season begins? Absolutely not. He’s not missing bats, and his control has been dismal. However, he’s out of options, and the Braves aren’t going to want to lose that depth before the season even begins. It’s also very possible that Ian Anderson improves significantly as he continues to ramp things up. It’s important to remember he missed a year and a half following Tommy John surgery and hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2022. There was always going to be some growing pains through this process.
- Drake Baldwin
- Chadwick Tromp
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The Braves might have considered rolling with a veteran option in place of Sean Murphy, but Drake Baldwin has been too damn good to ignore. He looks every bit of major-league ready, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get some run early in the season.
- Matt Olson
- Orlando Arcia
- Ozzie Albies
- Austin Riley
- Nick Allen
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The Braves had a real scare with Austin Riley on Friday when he was struck on the wrist with a 94 MPH fastball, the same wrist he broke last year that ended his season. Thankfully, all tests came back negative, and he has been declared day-to-day. His status for Opening Day doesn’t appear to be in question, and I don’t think there is much here that is up in the air either.
- Michael Harris II
- Marcell Ozuna
- Jarred Kelenic
- Jurickson Profar
- Bryan De La Cruz
- Eli White
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About the only question among the outfielders is whether Eli White makes the roster, but he’s been stellar this spring and deserves the opportunity.
- Raisel Iglesias
- Aaron Bummer
- Dylan Lee
- Pierce Johnson
- Angel Perdomo
- Hector Neris
- Buck Farmer
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How the Braves choose to construct their bullpen is by far the biggest mystery ahead of Opening Day. I decided on only making one change, replacing Daysbel Hernandez with Enyel De Los Santos. I think Hernandez will end up playing a significant role for the Braves this season, but he has options, and the club might want to let this battle between non-roster invites linger into the first few weeks of the season.
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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
