Not adding another starting pitcher last offseason was brutal for the Braves
The Braves' offseason before the 2023 season was an interesting one. Their biggest move was to acquire Sean Murphy in a three-team trade with Oakland and Milwaukee that brought Atlanta their primary catcher for the foreseeable future even though it did cost them William Contreras who played his brains out for the Brewers this season.
The biggest issue with their offseason, though, is that the Braves did not add any meaningful depth at starting pitcher and that was a problem from the start. Sure, Spencer Strider and Max Fried at the top of the rotation was/is a fearsome 1-2 punch and Atlanta couldn't have realistically foreseen Fried missing a big chunk of the season, but there were signs going into 2023 that the Braves should have addressed their rotation depth either in another trade or in free agency.
Charlie Morton wasn't a young man coming into the season after the Braves brought him back, Kyle Wright had had only had the one good season in 2022 and was dealing with shoulder issues as far back as January, and the Braves' final rotation spot was already in flux heading into spring training with most of their internal options have some kind of warts to their candidacies. With that much uncertainty, Alex Anthopoulos should absolutely have brought in another veteran starter to help the Braves eat innings while they figured which of their young arms they liked.
To be fair, the Braves didn't COMPLETELY ignore the rotation as they did trade the ghost of Jake Odorizzi to the Rangers for old friend Kolby Allard. However, Kolby's major league career had not inspired a ton of confidence to begin with and he ended up on the 60 day IL with nerve inflammation in his shoulder. The Braves simply should have done more here, plain and simple.