ATLANTA -- Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has said he would like to add a playoff-caliber starting pitcher before the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline. This is an annual desire for most contenders. But it’s an actual need this year in Atlanta.
As Reynaldo López was regularly hit hard in an 8-3 loss to the Padres on Tuesday night at Truist Park, there was once again reason to question how the Braves would line up their current rotation in a postseason series.
“These guys are all capable of being good Major League starters,” manager Walt Weiss said. “So that's what I expect the rest of the way.”
Writing about rotation depth concerns the Boston Braves had in 1948, the Boston Herald’s Gerald Hern penned: “[Warren] Spahn and [Johnny] Sain and pray for rain.” The current day version might be: “Sale and at least four days of hail.”
Chris Sale not only stands as the obvious Game 1 starter. The 2024 NL Cy Young Award winner is also the only current Atlanta pitcher who could be confidently given a postseason start. He owns MLB’s second-best ERA (2.06). But the Braves’ rotation has the Majors’ fourth-worst starting pitching ERA (5.56) over a 34-game span going back to June 9.
So who would start Game 2 of a playoff series? Before you say Didier Fuentes, you should know Weiss said: “We haven’t had any of those conversations,” when asked about the possibility of the rookie reliever being stretched out to be a starter.
So, if you’re only as good as your last start, Bryce Elder seems to be the obvious choice to get the ball in Game 2. Elder allowed two earned runs over six innings in Monday’s 3-2 win over the Padres. This was his second start in 23 days. The encouraging results indicated he may have been dealing with a dead arm when he had posted a 11.00 ERA in his previous four starts.
A larger sample size proves Elder is capable of being an effective starter. He exited a June 7 start against the Pirates with MLB’s ninth-best ERA (2.71) over a 21-start stretch that dated back to Aug. 24, 2025.
So, who would start Game 3? Right now, you could flip a coin to determine whether to go with López, Grant Holmes or Martín Pérez, who will return from the injured list to start Wednesday night’s game against the Padres.
López’s fastball averaged 95.3 mph on Tuesday. That’s similar to the 95.5 mph average he produced during his 2024 All-Star season. As for his slider, the Padres whiffed with 10 of 15 swings against it.
But the only thing that mattered was the fact that he allowed five runs on nine hits, including two home runs, and three walks over 4 1/3 innings.
López hasn’t completed more than five innings in any of the five starts he has made since ending his stint back in the bullpen. Pérez has a 3.75 ERA in 14 starts, but he has completed more than five innings in just two of his past seven starts. Holmes has pitched effectively in three July starts, but he has struggled going through a lineup multiple times.
Because the postseason schedule allows relievers to get ample rest, you can live with playoff starters who might go just five innings or leave after going through the lineup once or twice.
But Braves starters have completed at least six innings in just five of the past 34 games. This will continue to put significant strain on the bullpen and hinder the bid to even reach the playoffs.
So, while there’s a need to add a playoff-caliber starter, there’s also a need for the Braves’ current starters to step up and give what could be a solid bullpen a chance to survive the regular season’s final two months.