A first pass at Braves' potential Opening Day roster

Any roster prediction constructed before the start of Spring Training is destined to have some mistakes. Whether it be because of injuries, acquisitions or the author’s incompetence, the Opening Day roster is going to be different than the one you’re about to view.

Will the Braves deal with injuries during camp? This will be my 26th Spring Training in this role and it feels like each of the past 25 was tarnished by some kind health-related development. Will they add to the roster? Well, I think we’re all assuming they could still add a starting pitcher. And after making this projection, there’s reason to wonder if they are one bat short, especially with both shortstop Ha-Seong Kim and catcher Sean Murphy out until mid-May.

But let’s go ahead and predict who could be on Atlanta’s roster when the Braves welcome the Royals to town for an Opening Day matchup on March 27.

Catchers (2): Drake Baldwin and Sandy León
The Braves could choose to go with Chadwick Tromp instead of León to serve as Baldwin’s backup while Murphy completes his recovery from hip surgery. But we’ll give the nod to León, who has been Baldwin’s valuable mentor over the past couple of years.

Infielders (6): Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Mauricio Dubón, Austin Riley, Jorge Mateo, Kyle Farmer
Farmer gets the nod because he could fill any of the infield spots on those nights when Dubón moves to left field as a late-inning replacement for Mike Yastrzemski, who struggles against left-handed pitching. Dubón will serve as the starting shortstop while Kim remains out until at least mid-May with a surgically repaired right middle finger.

Outfielders (5): Mike Yastrzemski, Jurickson Profar, Michael Harris II, Ronald Acuña Jr., Eli White
Yastrzemski will start in left field against right-handed starters. With Baldwin set to serve as the primary catcher while Murphy is sidelined, Profar will likely spend the season’s early weeks as the team’s primary DH. White could be the starting left fielder against left-handed starters until Murphy returns and Baldwin gets more starts as the DH. Baldwin’s presence as the DH would lead to Profar getting some starts in left field.

Starting Pitchers (5): LHP Chris Sale, RHP Spencer Strider, RHP Spencer Schwellenbach, RHP Chris Bassitt, RHP Reynaldo López
That’s not a misprint. I’m confident that the Braves will add a starting pitcher once Zac Gallen’s signing causes some dominoes to fall, and Bassitt feels like the best fit. The addition could also be Lucas Giolito or a trade acquisition. There’s a chance López (returning from shoulder surgery) and Grant Holmes (elbow) both prove durable and effective enough to serve as starters throughout the season. But the better bet seems to be on gambling on just one of them.

Where is Hurston Waldrep? The talented young hurler has the ability to be one of the team’s top starters. But Holmes, Bryce Elder and Joey Wentz are out of options. So, to protect the club’s depth, they would likely begin the season in the Majors, as long as they aren’t traded before Opening Day.

Bullpen (8): RHP Raisel Iglesias, RHP Robert Suarez, RHP Tyler Kinley, LHP Dylan Lee, RHP Grant Holmes, LHP Aaron Bummer, RHP Joel Payamps, RHP Bryce Elder
Elder pitched into the seventh inning and allowed three runs or fewer in five of his last six starts last year. If I was constructing the roster, I would have him begin the season as the fifth starter and move López to the bullpen. Once you move López to the bullpen, you certainly don’t want to tax his arm by asking him to ramp up again in the middle of the season. So, I can see why the Braves may want him to begin the season in the rotation. But it wasn’t like the arm issues suddenly appeared last year. He missed most of the second half of the 2024 season, despite the fact he was regularly starting with one and two extra days of rest.

Bummer is owed $9 million this year. He has had his share of struggles, but the 2.87 FIP he’s produced over the past two seasons is enough to gamble on his ability to team with Lee to give the ‘pen two solid lefties.

It will be interesting to see how the Braves deal with the fact three starters (Holmes, Wentz and Elder) who strengthen their rotation depth are all out of options. There’s always a chance that at least one of them could be dealt for a starting pitcher who has options. But that’s not exactly an easy find in this era during which there is an absolute need for at least nine starters every season.