The Atlanta Braves face a hard winter. They need starting pitchers badly. Chris Sale is the ace, but he cannot do it alone. The team must find more innings soon. Battery Power reports that the rotation was undone by injuries in the past five postseason trips. This pattern must stop if they want to win again.
On the surface, the stats look okay for 2026. A 3.76 ERA placed Braves starters sixth in Major League Baseball. They ranked 11th in innings pitched with 839.1 IP. Despite that, the squad generated a composite 10.7 fWAR, ranking 16th in baseball. The real problem is that Sale accounted for 5.8 fWAR. He made up more than half of that total. The rest of the group lacks the depth to handle a long playoff run.
The Lack of Depth Hurts
Last winter, General Manager Alex Anthopoulos expressed a wish to secure a playoff-caliber starter. That need is still front and center now. The club has a bevy of rotation candidates, but many come with conditional concerns. Several internal options for the Braves have failed to remain healthy and cannot be relied upon. The uncertainty about internal options creates a big hole in the lineup.
Blake Burkhalter is one example of a player who did not get a real shot. He made an appearance for the Braves this season, but it was a cup of coffee. He pitched one inning on September 1 and was sent down the next day. He was charged with one run alongside one hit, one walk, and one strikeout during that inning. The Braves did not protect him ahead of last year’s Rule 5 Draft. This suggests the team did not think highly of his ability to pitch at the big league level.
Fixing the Gap
Leaving this box unchecked on their offseason shopping list is something the Braves simply cannot afford. Whether Alex Anthopoulos chooses free agency or a trade, the move must happen. In each of its last five postseason runs, untimely injuries consistently dismantled the rotation. There is no way to prevent injury issues, but adding proven reinforcements helps. Failing to add those arms has certainly contributed to the annual issue.
The current lack of clarity underscores the need for continuity and consistency. The team has questions about where the innings will actually come from. They need to know the quality of those innings before the season starts. Battery Power notes that the situation appears to have reached a tipping point. The team must act to build a World Series contender for 2027.
