NORTH PORT, Fla. — Last season, Bryce Elder capably filled a rotation spot when the Braves needed him most. He pitched well enough to be an All-Star. The Braves needed him.
So you might think Elder, because of all he did and what he meant to last season’s team, would have an advantage in the spring training battle for the fifth spot in the starting rotation.
Nope.
This is not how professional sports works. Jobs are earned, then earned again and again. And in this case, the Braves view it as a true competition for that final rotation spot.
Elder isn’t upset. He understands this.
“I think you see it day in, day out with some of the best players in the world,” Elder said as pitchers and catchers reported. “There’s nothing guaranteed in this game, so you got to go out every day and make it happen. It’s not that you gotta think that – that’s how it is. So you gotta go do it.”
Here’s what Elder does have: The experience of last season. He learned from it, but it also gives him a lot of confidence as he tries to break camp with the big club.
“I always kind of said I believed I could do it, but you don’t know until you know it,” Elder said. “Going into it this year, I’m ready to go and know that I can, and if I get back to executing pitches, I’ll be good.”
Elder’s goal, which he simply stated, is to “make 32 good starts and give the team a chance to win every time I go out.” That, of course, isn’t as easy as it sounds, as Elder encountered last year.
Elder posted a 2.97 ERA over his first 18 starts, which earned him a spot on the National League All-Star team. In the second half, he had a 5.11 ERA over 13 starts.
Perhaps Elder regressed to his own mean after overperforming in the first half.
Or maybe he simply tired out. After all, it’s a long season, he’s still young and that was the most he’d ever pitched in a year. It’s grueling.
“No, I think a lot of it is that – probably the physical and mental load that these guys (go through),” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “You have to experience it to figure out what it is, and he did, and you look back, what a great year he had. Big games. And made an All-Star team. He should just build on that coming into camp.”
This season, Elder wants to figure out a way to make the bad starts just OK – to mitigate damage whenever possible. If he broke camp with the club and spent the entire season in the rotation, it would be his first opening day.
But first, he must win a job.
And in the offseason, he used the lessons he learned last year to prepare for the coming season.
“That the season is really, really long,” Elder said. “You always hear how long it is. And 32 starts is a lot, and I think this year I’ll be much more prepared for it.”
Albies and Arcia report
Two more smiling faces entered the clubhouse Saturday morning: Second baseman Ozzie Albies and shortstop Orlando Arcia. They were talking and laughing with teammates.
They’re among the brightest personalities on the team, and they haven’t changed.
During Saturday’s workout, Albies and Arcia were working on the half-field – a smaller-scale field at the complex – with bench coach Walt Weiss, who’ll also instruct the infielders. Of course, they were having a great time.
“They just have so much fun playing,” Snitker said. “It’s just really refreshing to go out and watch those guys run around and play. When they’re working, they’re having fun and paying attention to detail, always. So it’s just good to have those back in the fold here.”
Eight of nine members of the Braves’ projected batting order have reported to North Port. As of Saturday morning, designated hitter Marcell Ozuna hadn’t reported, but he has until Monday to do so.
Morton throws at camp
Charlie Morton threw a bullpen session Saturday. He did a simulated up-down – basically, he threw, took a breather to simulate being in the dugout for a half-inning, then threw again.
“I thought it was really, really good,” Snitker said.
The manager soon added: “As long as he’s healthy, everything will take care of itself.”
And is he fully healthy after the finger sprain at the end of last season?
“He’s fully healthy,” Snitker said.
Projected Sunday rain
This area is projected to receive rainfall Sunday, which puts the Braves’ workout in flux. The team might not be able to use the fields if it rains too hard. Plus, there’s no reason to risk injury.
But in Florida, you never know how correct the forecast will turn out to be.
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