Braves 2024 Opening Day roster projection 1.0: Atlanta goes with All-Star in rotation

.The Atlanta Braves are set to begin their spring training schedule this weekend which means that our long nightmare is over and Braves baseball is officially back. While many teams have a lot of roster decisions to make this spring, the Braves are fortunate enough to enter spring training with few open questions given that Atlanta brings back most of the team that won 104 games last year.

There are some new faces with Chris Sale joining the rotation after a trade with the Red Sox, Jarred Kelenic taking over in left after the Braves moved on from Eddie Rosario, and the addition of a couple guys to the bullpen. However, even with the carryovers from 2023 and the new faces, the Braves do have to settle a couple of roster spots in the coming weeks including the last spot in their rotation, a couple bullpen slots, and the bench.

With that in mind, here is our first pass at projecting the Braves' Opening Day roster for 2024. As with anything, these picks are subject to change as spring training goes on and guys' progress in camp becomes more apparent.

Braves 2024 Opening Day roster projection 1.0: Atlanta goes with All-Star in rotation

Braves Opening Day Projected Starting Rotation

• Spencer Strider
• Max Fried
• Charlie Morton
• Chris Sale
• Bryce Elder
• Reynaldo Lopez (sorta)

This is a funny one because the Braves first four spots in their starting rotation are set unless an injury pops up. Spencer Strider and Max Fried are legitimate Cy Young contenders and are not going anywhere unless they get hurt. Charlie Morton is running it back at least one more time in 2024 and Chris Sale is hoping to have a career renaissance with the Braves after an injury-plagued stint in Boston.

The fifth spot, however, is very much up in the air. Mark Bowman recently projected Reynaldo Lopez to get the nod here given the Braves' plans to stretch him out and that using him early in the season as a starter makes the most sense if Atlanta is going to do it at all. He makes a valid point, but we split the difference here and have the Braves still keeping Bryce Elder in the rotation while having Lopez chip in as a sixth starter on occasion early in the season.

The logic here is straightforward. While Elder did struggle in the second half, he wasn't bad enough to completely abandon ship on. Having Lopez start early in the season in addition to keeping Elder around gives extra days of rest for the entire rotation and, hopefully, keeps them fresh enough to prevent any injury or fatigue issues down the line.