The Atlanta Braves and their window of opportunity
(Q5) What is your expectation for this team this coming season?
(A5) The Braves are solid in the starting nine, but very thin below that. I do expect additional add-ons for both the bench and the bullpen through the end of Spring Training, but barring a major trade, the roster is going to remain a bit iffy below the regulars.
Heck, we don’t even have anyone as a backup catcher as of this writing… save for internal prospect options.
That being said, it’s extraordinarily difficult to go through an entire campaign without losing someone to injury. Depending on which player(s) go down, the season could turn on a dime from a 90-95 win team to a 78-82 win team.
The overall hope is that all of the “kids” continue to make additional strides that build on what they’ve already accomplished.
All of them – Acuna, Albies, Soroka, Fried, Anderson – have shown they can handle major league competition. Others (the aforementioned Riley and Cristian Pache) need time to establish for themselves that they are true major leaguers.
Nonetheless, the talent level is such that it would be difficult to see Atlanta severely challenged for the division title… or at worst, 2nd place behind maybe the Mets, given New York’s pitching.
It’s still relatively early in the Braves “competitive window” for winning a World Series with this group, but it would have felt better if the front office had taken an additional step or two to “go for it” this off-season… even as we watched other clubs executed those kinds of trades and signings.
Best guess right now is that Atlanta still finishes 1st or 2nd in the NL East, but is unable to reach the World Series… just like what happened in 2020.
Call me for a redo on that if Alex Anthopoulos actually makes a big trade deal between now and then. The Padres and Dodgers have made those kinds of “All In” moves. Atlanta has no.
Maybe they figure they’ve got one bullet and want to make sure it is aimed properly at the trade deadline. We’re still waiting in any case.