Looking Ahead to the Braves 2024 Season:

During the 2023 offseason, the Atlanta Braves added two bigger-name players: LHP Chris Sale and left-fielder Jarred Kelenic. They also added Reynaldo Lopez and Aaron Bummer who are both relief pitchers. These are the only main acquisitions they have made thus far.

After trading Vaughn Grissom to the Red Sox for Chris Sale, Atlanta signed him to a 2-year $38 million contract which includes a $16 million option for the 2026 season. Sale is a 7-time All-Star, however the past few seasons he has been plagued with injuries and hasn’t been able to pitch like he once did. The Braves are hoping he can give them some stability in the starting rotation in the fourth or fifth spot, but given his past couple of seasons, it is up in the air whether that will happen or not. In 2023, Sale struck out 30% of the batters he faced which makes makes his strikeouts per game right around 11. Considering he didn’t pitch a full season in 2023, that is a good stat.

Chris Sale is also 34 years old. By the time the 2024 season starts he will be 35. That is an older age for a pitcher. In most cases when they reach this age they have passed their prime. It is also more likely for a pitcher to have more season-ending injuries when they get into their 30’s (This has been the case for Sale, and another example of this would be Jacob deGrom who has had a lot of injures in the past few seasons which has led to a decrease in his pitching and the quality of his pitching). Hopefully, despite a few “down seasons” Chris Sale can give the Braves some good quality starts and bolster their rotation.

As for Reynaldo Lopez and Aaron Bummer, they both have similar stats. They’re both 30 years old, and ironically they both played for the Chicago White Sox for their entire career until the 2023 season when they went to different teams. Their stats aren’t knock you off your feet impressive, but when looking at them on a piece of paper, they seem consistent. Over 55+ innings, neither one of them gave up over 10 home runs in the 2023 season. And for the Braves bullpen, who has been known to give up home runs late in a game, that is a promising stat. However, we all know that what things look like on paper aren’t always what you get in a game, but these promising statistics give a glimpse of hope to these two starters as added depth to the bullpen.

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Jarred Kelenic was the acquisition that surprised me the most. The Braves made the decision to decline Eddie Rosario’s 2024 option on his contract, which made the position of left field open. I thought that they might sign Kevin Pillar to a contract since he played well for the Braves in the 2023 season, but nope.

Kelenic hasn’t had a ton of experience in the big leagues, and at only 24 years old he still has a good amount of playing time left. Not to mention he also has time to grow and become a better player. His numbers aren’t fantastic, but he was consistent over the 2023 season, ending with a .253 average over 105 games. There is definitely room for growth with those numbers, and Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos seems confident that he can achieve that growth with the Braves team. Let’s hope he’s correct.

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Regardless of who the Braves signed in the offseason, they still have most of their team intact. In fact, the only two players that won’t be there are Eddie Rosario and Kevin Pillar. This means that the lineup will stay the exact same with the addition of Jarred Kelenic. Atlanta has a very powerful lineup, and a very good defense. The only thing that has been questionable in the past couple of years has been the starting pitching and the bullpen. Hopefully, with these few additions, AND players returning from the injured list, the Atlanta Braves will make it farther in the Postseason after the 2024 season.

GO BRAVES!!