Atlanta Braves: The New Year is looking mighty bright!

3.) Scott Kazmir

With his recent hip injury, Kazmir is a bit of a two-way street for the Atlanta Braves. There is no reason to really expect Atlanta to trade Kazmir unless he makes a comeback, proves to be dominant, and a team needs someone like Kazmir, especially since his contract ends after the 2018 season.

Unless that happens, Kazmir should take over a bullpen position as the current rotation is full of players with more talent and potential than Kazmir.  In the 3 years before Kazmir’s hip injury in 2017, he hurled a 3.74 ERA in 29.7 games per season as a starter.

With the Braves, the likelihood of Kazmir being a starter would be very low considering the current 5-man rotation the Braves will be rolling with at the start of 2018: Teheran, Folty, Newcomb, Gohara, and McCarthy.

Max Fried would likely be the 6th man of the rotation if someone gets injured. However, depending on Kazmir’s performance and success in Spring Training, Kazmir could be that 6th man while Fried pitches out of the pen or goes back to the Gwinnett Stripers.

So what is the Braves next move?

Be patient, and wait! But be proactive as well. The Braves should limit the amount of moves, and the type of moves they make before and during the 2018 season. The Braves have almost all of their pieces in order, and those pieces just have to fall together, which is the main purpose for the 2018 season.

Next: Atlanta Braves have checked in with Marlins about Yelich

The additional pieces the Braves will need in their rebuild will be relief pitching (which is scary as the cost of relief pitchers is extremely high right now), a left fielder, and hopefully someone like a third basemen by the name of Manny Machado during the 2019 free agency.