NORTH PORT, Fla. – Anyone who visits Braves camp will see one of the franchise’s best rosters in a long time. The reigning World Series winners upgraded their talent and acquired players who fit the team’s acclaimed culture.
It’s beyond difficult to repeat as World Series champs, but general manager Alex Anthopoulos is giving the Braves a legitimate chance. With only under two weeks until the games matter, here are five questions about the Braves that will be answered in due time:
1. How does the rotation shake out?
Charlie Morton, Max Fried and Ian Anderson is a great starting point. Maybe Mike Soroka makes it back this summer and helps, but that’s to be determined. Unless the Braves acquire outside help – entirely possible given Anthopoulos’ aggressiveness in the past few weeks – the final two or three spots will go to the best pitchers of the usual suspects.
Kyle Wright is once again vying for a rotation spot out of camp. So is Kyle Muller, the towering hard-throwing lefty who showed promise in his major-league stint last season. Southpaw Tucker Davidson and Huascar Ynoa, both of whom had success in 2021, likewise are in the mix. Touki Toussaint was optioned to Triple-A, but he’ll appear at some point.
Those pitchers can’t inspire confidence, at least until one or more shows he deserves to maintain a spot. If they’re a starter short in the summer, Anthopoulos will address it. It’s possible he adds a starter before opening day, as the team did in 2018 when the Twins let Anibal Sanchez go.
2. What happens in the outfield?
We have some clarity here. Eddie Rosario is back. Marcell Ozuna is a logical designated hitter (his left-field gaffe Wednesday reminded us why), though he could still play in the field occasionally. Guillermo Heredia and Adam Duvall are both veteran plus-defenders. Ronald Acuna is expected to DH when he returns and eventually move back into right field. Anthopoulos has suggested Acuna could play the field as early as May.
Plans rarely play out as expected, but the Braves have depth and options in their outfield. They could open the season with Rosario in right, Heredia in center and Duvall in left with Ozuna as DH. Alex Dickerson further strengthens their depth, and they could put him in the starting lineup if desired (as they did during Friday’s exhibition contest). They’ll mix and match.
3. How do the new players mesh?
Anthopoulos made one of the bolder moves in franchise history when he moved on from first baseman Freddie Freeman. Freeman was replaced with Matt Olson, a younger All-Star first baseman. Olson was viewed as the perfect alternative and fits beautifully in the Braves’ lineup.
The bigger question is how Freeman’s leadership is replaced. He was the team’s spokesman and a clubhouse manager. This was “his” team. That’s how Freeman’s teammates viewed it. That’s how his peers across baseball viewed it.
The good news is the Braves maintain a strong clubhouse, one full of players who’ve won at the highest level and helped establish the culture the team has formed under manager Brian Snitker. These players helped set the standard.
It appears the many Braves newcomers, from Olson to Kenley Jansen to Collin McHugh, all seem ideal clubhouse fits for an organization that prioritizes culture.
“Every one of the new guys has fit right in here,” Snitker said. “They’ve been awesome. How they work, how they’ve filtered into our work program. Nobody has had a problem doing that. It’s been very nice to see that.”
4. Just how good is this bullpen?
On paper, this should be one of the most dominant bullpens in Braves history. It’s deep, experienced and loaded with pitches who possess wipe-out stuff. The season never unfolds as expected. Injuries and underperformance are inevitable. But Anthopoulos has positioned the Braves’ bullpen as a strength.
The Braves won the World Series last fall largely thanks to their bullpen. It sounds borderline crazy to say the group is better, but on paper, it unquestionably is. The team added Collin McHugh and Kenley Jansen, two of the best relievers last season. They also acquired Kirby Yates, a former All-Star closer who could provide another boost later in the season.
On the Jansen signing that nobody saw coming, Olson said: “(Jansen) is an incredible arm in the back end, and it was already a pretty incredible bullpen.”
It isn’t outlandish to predict this becomes one of the greatest bullpens in team history. Even in the event of misfortune, Anthopoulos has acquired the depth to withstand it. If the bullpen isn’t a strength, it won’t be by lack of effort to make it one.
5. What stops this team besides health?
The only thing that could seemingly slow these Braves is health. This roster is better than last season’s, on paper, and is quite possibly the best roster this team has had in two decades. As stressed earlier, the season doesn’t play out on paper, but this team is well positioned to handle the adversity of the 162-game trek.
The Braves have an argument for the best roster in the National League. They’re at least not far behind the always loaded Dodgers. The improved Mets should prove worthy competition, but it’s hard to make any declarations about them until their revamped roster has played meaningful games.
It was an emotional offseason for Braves fans, from celebrating the World Series to waiting out the lockout to saying good-bye to Freeman. As the new season begins, their team looks primed to produce another fun summer and fall.
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