Coming into the offseason, two of the Braves chief concerns were starting pitching depth and left field. Now 10 weeks into the season, two of the Braves most glaring holes are starting pitching depth and left field.
Alex Anthopoulos at least attempted to remedy left field by signing Jurickson Profar to a three-year, $42 million contract. But unfortunately, he was almost immediately struck with an 80-game PED suspension after playing in just four games to start the season, and left field has been a black hole in his absence.
The rotation, on the other hand, has actually been the Braves biggest strength in the first half of the season. However, a couple of severe injuries have left the depth paper thin. Reynaldo Lopez made just one start before hitting the IL with a potentially season-ending shoulder injury, AJ Smith-Shawver is now out for the year after suffering a torn UCL, and Spencer Strider still doesn’t look like himself after returning from InternalBrace surgery. Thankfully, Bryce Elder has stepped up and been a godsend over the last couple of months, but there’s no question another starting pitcher would really ease a lot of concerns right now.
The Braves’ lack of spending has been well-documented this offseason. It’s caused a large portion of the fan base to point to ownership, but I have a hard time doing that when several high quality options were on the Braves roster this offseason for pennies, and Alex Anthopoulos opted not to even tender them contracts.
Griffin Canning was acquired by the Braves last October in a trade that sent Jorge Soler to the Angels. The 29-year-old hadn’t had a lot of success in Los Angeles, but the Angels have never been an organization known for their ability to develop pitchers. Most thought the Braves would at least keep him around for $5-6 million, but they didn’t, deciding against tendering him a contract.
Canning was then scooped up by the rival Mets, and not only did he make their major-league roster, but he’s also been one of the better starting pitchers in the game to begin this season, posting a 6-2 record with a 2.90 ERA through his first 12 starts. That’s worth a helluva lot more than $5.5 million, which is what he was projected to make in arbitration, and nobody can blame Liberty Media for that miss.
Additionally, the Braves also decided against tendering a contract to Ramon Laureano, who was tremendous for the club amid their offensive struggles in 2024. The veteran recorded 1.3 WAR with the Braves in just 67 games last season, hitting just a hair below .300 with an .832 OPS, and that success has continued this season.
After being non-tendered, Laureano signed with the Orioles and has accrued 1.3 WAR in just 39 games, thanks to an .845 OPS. That’s about 100 times the production the Braves have gotten out of left field this season — featuring a combination of Jarred Kelenic, Bryan De La Cruz, Eli White, and Alex Verdugo — and Laureano was projected to cost Atlanta just $6.1 million had they tendered him a contract.
For most of Alex Anthopoulos’ tenure as Braves general manager, he’s been one of the best in the business at finding undervalued cast-offs that have come to Atlanta and had a significant impact. Guys like Jesse Chavez, Jorge Soler, Orlando Arcia, Travis d’Arnaud, and Tyler Matzek are just a few of the examples. This is an area where he had thrived, but not only have a lot of his significant moves soured in recent years, he also appears to have lost his touch when it comes to finding hidden gems as well.
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Photo: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
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