This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat e-newsletter. To learn the total e-newsletter, click on right here. And subscribe to get it often in your inbox.
ATLANTA — The Yankees’ outfield protection was alleged to chunk them in some unspecified time in the future and the Dodgers didn’t have sufficient pitching to win all of it. These had been simply a few ideas that developed over the months that preceded this 12 months’s Yankees vs. Dodgers World Sequence matchup.
Uncertainty, frustration and doubt are the feelings felt by each fan base throughout the course of the lengthy baseball season. The 2006 Cardinals completed 5 video games above .500 (83-78) and received the World Sequence. The ’01 Mariners completed 60 video games above .500 (116-46) after which misplaced six of their 9 postseason video games.
You’ll often encounter a crew just like the 2018 Braves, whose first-round playoff exit didn’t diminish all that was completed by abruptly ending a rebuild with an surprising division title. However for probably the most half, the baseball season yearly ends in disappointing vogue for all however one crew.
Earlier than leaping into the offseason over the weeks and months that comply with, listed below are a couple of ideas concerning the Braves’ 2024 season:
1. The Opening Day roster might need been the very best the Braves have ever had. You can argue the 1998 or 2003 golf equipment had been stronger, however the large potential of the ’24 squad turned clear, as this 12 months’s crew received 89 video games regardless of having simply six of its 10 Opening Day beginning gamers (beginning pitcher included) miss at the least two months due to accidents.
2. Braves supervisor Brian Snitker created some laughs when he stated, “We’re operating out of subsequent mans up” whereas discussing his membership’s harm woes late within the season. He was challenged to seek out wholesome choices to fill out his lineup and rotation all through the season. Then, when it appeared like issues couldn’t worsen in August, his bullpen depth started to crumble.
It’s simple to handle when the whole lot goes your method. There was nothing simple about what Snitker did this 12 months, as he navigated the crew by way of numerous obstacles and reached the postseason for a seventh straight season.
3. Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos deserves credit score for what he did throughout the offseason and inside the season, by filling holes with veterans like Whit Merrifield, Ramón Laureano and Gio Urshela. His willingness to take an opportunity on Chris Sale and Reynaldo López enriched the season and, extra importantly, gave the Braves an opportunity to stay World Sequence contenders for the subsequent couple of years.
4. When Anthopoulos instructed us Sale threw a aspect session two days after the Braves had been eradicated, I obtained the anticipated, “What good does that do us now” responses on social media. This was truly a really important growth. Had this not occurred, I extremely doubt I might have been the one one who’d undergo the offseason skeptical about how the again ailment would possibly negatively affect the left-hander throughout the winter and into subsequent 12 months. Keep in mind, a key to Sale’s success this 12 months was the quantity of labor he was in a position to do throughout the offseason.
5. It wouldn’t shock me if the Braves went by way of April with out Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider.
With each of Acuña’s anterior cruciate ligaments now surgically repaired, we could by no means see one other 40-40 season from him. However even when his knees restrict his velocity, he ought to nonetheless be fairly able to remaining elite with each his arm and large energy.
As for Strider, the hope is he’ll return from an ulnar collateral brace process and show he’s nonetheless the sport’s most enjoyable pitcher. Keep in mind when it appeared like Strider is likely to be greatest used as a reliever? Keep in mind when he was anticipated to fatigue throughout his rookie season? Yeah, his return brings some uncertainty. However I’ve turn into sure that this younger hurler is fueled by the possibility to show his critics flawed.
6. Jarred Kelenic is a former first-round choice who was one of many sport’s prime total prospects only a few years in the past. The Braves paid $17 million final winter for the possibility to manage him for 5 seasons. If we didn’t know all of this, we’d have a look at the 15 homers and .679 OPS he produced this 12 months and suppose, “He’s a reasonably good fourth outfielder.” The expertise and expertise are there, however we’re nearing some extent the place Kelenic is likely to be thought-about only a backup outfielder. For this reason the Braves must determine whether or not to stay with Laureano as their left fielder or discover another choice.
7. When Austin Riley fractured his hand on Aug. 18, I wrote that the Braves might need lastly realized their crushing blow. Precisely one week earlier, A.J. Minter threw his final pitch earlier than present process season-ending hip surgical procedure. Minter’s absence was felt throughout the common season’s remaining six weeks and once more throughout the postseason. He would have been the best choice to make use of as an opener in opposition to the Padres in Sport 1 of the NL Wild Card Sequence.
8. After I instructed an American League scout that Charlie Morton was fascinated by pitching once more subsequent 12 months, the scout stated, “Why shouldn’t he?” The belief has been that Morton, who will flip 41 on Nov. 12, is able to spend extra time along with his household. But when he’s prepared to pitch once more subsequent 12 months, he is likely to be a short-term resolution the Braves might use to account for Max Fried’s anticipated free-agent departure and the uncertainty surrounding Strider, Ian Anderson and different fifth-starter candidates.
