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PHOENIX, ARIZONA – APRIL 25: Bench Coach Walt Weiss #4 of the Atlanta Braves during the MLB game at Chase Field on April 25, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The Atlanta Braves are off to a solid start to the 2026 MLB season. They picked up two victories to open up the campaign, and will go for the series sweep of the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

However, the early winning ways don’t mean the Braves are free of roster problems. In a recent article for FanSided.com, MLB writer Austin Owens believes that the Braves will ‘rid’ of starter Bryce Elder at some point during the season.

After getting two quality starts from Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez to start the season, the starting rotation really thins out after that. Grant Holmes will get the start on Sunday, but it’s fair to wonder what will happen with Bryce Elder when the likes of Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach return.

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Will the Braves Cut Ties with Bryce Elder?

‌Braves starter Bryce Elder

Austin Owens points to the fact that Bryce Elder has just not been able to figure it out at the big league level as a reason the Braves might move on from the former All-Star starter:

“Elder had a strong first half of 2023, even making the All-Star Game, but ever since then the righty just can’t seem to figure it out at the big-league level. To his credit, he consistently dominates in Triple-A, and on a certain level you have to respect his availability and willingness to soak up MLB innings when needed. But he can’t seem to bring that level of success one step further, and time is running out.”

He is out of options in his contract, so sending him back down to Triple-A isn’t an option anymore.

Atlanta is hoping they don’t have to go through the starter purgatory that they did last season, so getting rid of Bryce Elder would actually be a good thing because it would mean the Braves’ rotation is much more stable.

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Bryce Elder Has Had a Rough Last Two Years with the Braves

Bryce Elder has been kind of a controversial figure on the Braves in the last two seasons.

On one hand, he’s able to give the team an ample amount of starts, and can eat up innings for a bottom-of-the-rotation arm.

On the other hand, though, his production as a starter has been so poor that it’s clearly affecting the outcome of some games.

Over 28 starts last season, Elder posted a 5.30 ERA over 156.1 innings. In 2024, he especially struggled with a 6.52 ERA over 10 starts.

Only time will be able to tell how the Braves’ rotation pans out over the first month of the season, but for now, Elder is a part of the rotation and will be allowed to at least prove he can make some quality starts.

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