It is still very early in the 2025 season, but it already becoming abundantly clear as to what the Atlanta Braves' strengths, weaknesses, and areas of depth are. The offense is figuring things out for the most part, but the Braves' pitching staff is a different story.
We probably should have expected this situation given how the offseason went. Not only did Atlanta mostly avoid the tops of the starting pitcher and bullpen markets, but the Braves lost Max Fried (who is pitching his brains out for the Yankees) from their rotation as well as AJ Minter and Joe Jimenez from their bullpen. If you lose good players and rely on non-roster invite-level guys to fill the void, bad things can and do happen.
Now, with Spencer Strider working his way back from another injury, Reynaldo Lopez out for the foreseeable future, and Chris Sale looking a bit sketchy early on, Atlanta's trade deadline plans are extremely clear. They need pitching and a lot of it.
Braves simply have to add multiple arms at the trade deadline
Would it be nice if the Braves added a real shortstop like Bo Bichette at the trade deadline? Sure it would, but it should not be a priority. Atlanta is making due with Nick Allen for now, but the consistent issues with rotation depth and inconsistency from the bullpen are issues that could completely derail their season.
The problem here is that every contender wants more pitching at the trade deadline and the Braves front office hates overpaying in trades. Anthopoulos may not have a choice this year, though, as there are seemingly no guarantees in the rotation at the moment given Sale's velocity fluctuations, Schwellenbach looking human, and Raisel Iglesias being very shaky to start the season in an already shallow bullpen group.
Assuming Strider returns soon and for good, that is a great first step. It will not be enough, though. Atlanta has to add multiple arms at the trade deadline. This doesn't necessarily mean that they have to swing for the fences for a guy like Sandy Alcantara (who might be a bad idea anyways), but they need quality and quantity. If the Braves don't add at least one starter and a couple of relievers, the second half may not end the way Atlanta wants it to.