Tag: Spring Training

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!!

My Thoughts on the Braves’ Recent Roster Moves:

With two days until Opening Day and the last Spring Training game complete, the Atlanta Braves organization and coaching staff have made a flurry of moves lately. Some I could see coming, but others I was not expecting at all.

Ian Anderson and Bryce Elder Optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett:

Honestly, sending Ian Anderson down didn’t really surprise me. He did not pitch well at all during his starts in Spring Training and even toward the end of the 2022 season he didn’t have his best stuff. It was a bummer to watch him go down at the end of the 2022 season, but overall I think it was much needed. He will continue to work in Triple-A during the beginning of the season, and I’m sure will be back in the majors before the All-Star Break.

Bryce Elder had a good year for the Braves last season, but this Spring he didn’t seem as sharp as he was. He couldn’t get his pitch location quite where he wanted it and the opposing teams were beating up on him. I think a couple weeks in Triple-A is what he needs because that will allow him to really find himself and get into a good groove before he comes back up.

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Because Anderson and Elder got send down, this has given minor leaguers Dylan Dodd and Jared Shuster the opportunity to make their Major League debuts this season.

They both produced really good numbers this Spring. Dodd had a solid 2.00 ERA over 18 innings with 20 strikeouts, and Shuster had a 1.74 ERA over 20.2 innings and he had 19 strikeouts. Their numbers are very similar to each other and they gave pretty much the same velocity range. I think it’s really great that they are getting to come up and prove just what they are capable of. That’s one of the many things that makes baseball such a great sport- when one player doesn’t do as well as he is known to, a younger player gets to make a name for himself early on in his career.

Mike Soroka Gets Sent to Triple-A:

This move was kinda a no-brainer. Soroka faced a hamstring injury early this Spring and only made one start. In that start he pitched 1.1 inning and had a boat load of pitches.

It has been so long since Soroka has pitched that it it’s obviously going to take him a little while to get fully comfortable again on the pitcher’s mound. Once he gets back to where he was, I’m confident that he will be a force to be reckoned with.

Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake Sent Down to Triple-A Gwinnett:

This move honestly blew my mind. Vaughn Grissom put in so much work this spring (and in the offseason), not to mention the amount of attention he was getting from the coaches and the media, so that made it seem like he was getting the go ahead as the Braves Opening Day shortstop.

However, just because he was sent down to make way for Orlando Arcia, does not mean that he won’t be called up during the 2023 season to play shortstop.

Personally, I think the reason that they sent Grissom down and gave Arcia the nod at shortstop is because Arcia has more experience in the Majors and has played a full 162. The same goes for Shewmake – I think that he was put back in Triple-A because he has a lack of experience in the Majors.

I do think that Shewmake will be called up at some point and used as a bench player because, with Arcia playing shortstop and Grissom down in Gwinnett, that only leaves Ehire Adrianza as Atlanta’s bench player, and one bench player isn’t enough to cover all 9 positions.

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Regardless of who is playing shortstop or in the starting rotation, the Braves are set to be a really REALLY good team this year, and with Opening Day on Thursday, the fun is about to get started!

GO BRAVES!!