Atlanta Braves: are there too many problems to solve with trades?

The Braves have been enjoying a breakout season to this point… but what they need fixes for may require more than mere bandaids.

The last 30 days have been something of a struggle for the Atlanta Braves.  After games played on May 9th, the Braves stood at 21-14.  This morning finds them at 36-27, having lost 3 of their last 4 contests… an improvement of just 2 games over .500 during the past month.

I suppose that in late March, many of us would have been thrilled with a prophecy that this would be their record today while sitting at mere percentage points short of first place.  But it’s about perspective, really:  a great start hasn’t been sustained quite as hoped.  As the climate has warmed up, the Braves have cooled off.

So what are the Issues?

Several things, to be honest:

3RD BASE. I know… you’ve heard this before.  But a month after dropping Jose Bautista off at the New York train station, all those playing the position for the Braves are hitting .221 with a .715 OPS.  At least the defense is slightly above average.  Here’s the breakdown:

• Charlie Culberson.  The lone bright spot over the past month, hitting .304 with a 136 wRC+.  Yes, this is why he’s getting more playing time lately, though he’s the worst available defender at third, so much of that is actually coming from left field.

I still mention Charlie here because left field is a separate issue… which should be improved once Ronald Acuña returns… hopefully by next weekend.

So then there’s these guys:

• Johan Camargo.  Still getting most of the reps at third  But he’s only hitting .226 for the month with positive WAR simply because he’s hit 4 homers for the last 30 days.
• Ryan Flaherty.  The ‘revenge factor’ of playing the Phillies has worn off.  He’s only managed .156 at the plate in recent days… with a wRC+ of 6.  Yes – that’s a single digit for a stat whose league average is 100.

STARTING PITCHING.  It has to be asked:  where would the Braves be without Sean Newcomb?  But it actually isn’t just him:  Folty now has a .097 ERA over his last 37 innings (30 days), despite a 3-2 record.  Sure: it’s not 4-0 like Newcomb has been over the same period of time, but run support is a team issue, not a pitcher issue.

The weak links in this chain?  Brandon McCarthy (5.23 ERA) and Julio Teheran (6.11 – though some of his struggles may be traceable to minor nagging injuries).  While both are capable of much more, neither has been getting off to good starts, which leaves their team in ‘catch up’ mode.

In 11 starts between them, they have 60-2/3rds innings and a 2-5 record.  That – on top of the runs allowed – means that there’s a lot of bullpen innings being required to support those starts.  This in turn makes the bullpen less effective and leads to decisions that might appear questionable about how those arms are utilized.

In short, when you don’t get through at least the 6th inning, bad things will happen – eventually.

Pitcher injuries are not surprising, though it is notable that the ‘5th starter du jour’ (whether Sanchez, Gohara, Wisler, or Soroka before he was hurt) have all out-pitched McCarthy and Teheran in recent weeks.

As you might note from Mark Bowman’s news, the 5th Rotation Slot Roulette Wheel is still spinning.  However, this doesn’t resolve any problem… it merely continues the uncertain performance surrounding 3 of the 5 spots in the pitching lineup.