Speak with the Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other reporters yesterday Anthopoulos said his club continues to search “for a playoff starter,” as a pitcher who can now be comfortably deployed in a postseason rotation.”You can always make room for a starter on the front line, right? That is the only good or asset in this game that is not blocked. If you have five guys and you have someone who fits in the top three, you make room for those guys. That was always the goal for us,” said Anthopoulos.
Because the Braves have yet to find anyone who offers a clear upgrade over their current starters, the team has held up as Anthopoulos feels comfortable with at least the top four starters in his rotation. called Anthopoulos Chris Sales, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo LópezAnd Grant Holmes as “four boys [who] are fixed in our rotation”, and with Schwellenbach sidelined, the team will have several internal candidates such as Perez, Carrasco, Hurston Waldrep, Bryce Elderor Didier Fuentes they are all vying for the role of fifth starter.
The situation is still fluid if Anthopoulos can find an acceptable trade for a pitcher that raises the ceiling of the rotation, but there is enough depth available that the PBO isn’t all that interested in adding another depth starter just to raise the floor. This is partly because Anthopoulos is loyal to his current starters and is curious to see what they can bring to the table after an injury-marred season for most of the team. The health uncertainty surrounding Lopez and Holmes in particular has subsided to some extent, Anthopoulos said, so the rotation needs that seemed like a must in November are less critical now that Spring Training is underway.
“We are so much more distant now [from November]” said Anthopoulos. “We’re sitting here in the middle of February with those guys specifically, and we just know more about Holmes and Lopez, who we’ve been monitoring all offseason..”
Shoulder surgery limited Lopez to just one start in 2025. Holmes threw over 115 innings last season (starting in 21 of 22 games), but his year was ended by a partial UCL tear in late July, and Holmes is trying to play through the injury without a Tommy John or internal brace surgery. With Sale and Strider also having notable injury histories, adding even a depth arm still seems like a worthwhile endeavor for the Braves, especially since acquiring an arm at the front of the rotation is always difficult.
Anthopoulos is known for swinging surprise trades out of nowhere, so we can’t close the door on the Braves’ chances of finding a prominent arm. That said, it’s extremely difficult at this stage of the offseason to think of pitchers who could realistically be available in trade talks and who might be the kind of postseason-caliber starters Anthopoulos is looking for. It’s also fair to think that Anthopoulos is engaging in some play by downplaying his team’s need for a back-end rotation type if he’s in talks with rival clubs about these types of pitchers.
Of the aforementioned names on Atlanta’s target list, Giolito is still available, but Gallen has re-signed with the Diamondbacks, Bassitt has signed with the Orioles and the Brewers have traded Peralta to the Mets. Gallen and Bassitt just joined their new teams in recent days, and it’s unknown if the Braves were still pursuing either of these pitchers to the wire.
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