Every spring training, dozens of players enter camp, fighting for a chance to crack the Opening Day roster. For the Atlanta Braves, the biggest question mark is their pitching staff, with at least one open rotation spot and one bullpen spot up for grabs at the start of the regular season.
The first week of games still leaves plenty of questions left to be answered, but it appears that these three Braves players have already written themselves out of contention for the big league squad.
3 Braves with a 0% chance (or at least it should be) of making the Opening Day roster
Carlos Carrasco
Carrasco's chances of making the Opening Day roster increased slightly after both Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep went down with injuries, but he was going to need to be lights out in his spring training starts to ever seriously enter the conversation.
Unfortunately for the 16-year veteran, that bid appears to have already fallen short. Although he had a scoreless first outing, Carrasco got torched by the Yankees in his second start, allowing five runs in 1.2 innings. Unless the Braves entire rotation goes down this spring (which isn't out of the realm of possibility), it seems Carrasco's bid for the final spot has already ended.
Javy Guerra
Javy Guerra hasn't pitched in the majors since 2023, but the righty had pitched well enough in the NPB that it didn't seem unreasonable that he could crack the Opening Day roster as one of the last arms in the bullpen.
In Guerra's first outing, however, the righty could not find the strike zone, walking four batters and allowing five runs, including a grand slam. Guerra fared better in his second outing against the Pirates, striking out one and walking none, but with the 30-year-old's rough first outing, combined with his commitment to Panama in the World Baseball Classic, it's more than likely Guerra's shot with Atlanta won't come to start the season.
Hunter Stratton
Stratton pitched decently for the Braves after being acquired from the Pirates last season, but his 4.18 FIP likely indicated that his 2.20 ERA was a bit of a mirage.
The 29-year-old has only thrown in one spring training game, but couldn't even get out of the inning, allowing three runs on a hit-by-pitch and two doubles. While Stratton's biggest obstacle of making the Opening Day roster is the fact that he still has options, having a poor performance out of the gate will likely make the decision for him to start the season in Gwinnett even easier.