Brutal Braves injury update makes transfer deadline plans even harder to hide

The Atlanta Braves can’t afford to have their starting rotation get injured again, let alone Max Fried. He’s in a contract year and is scheduled for his second NL All-Star selection in 2024. Fried is just one of three monsters, including Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez, at the top of Atlanta’s rotation.

The Braves began the year with a tough injury update to their then-undisputed ace, Spencer Strider. Since then, Sale, Lopez, Fried, Morton and more have stepped in and then some, becoming the force on a team that many pundits thought needed to acquire a starting pitcher to make a legitimate postseason run.

With Fried out for 15 days (and possibly longer), Alex Anthopoulos will have a hard time hiding what he needs when selling general managers.

Fried’s injury was sudden and unexpected, as he was playing for the National League team in Arlington. He certainly would not have accepted an invitation if he had been struggling with ongoing injury problems.

In Fried’s absence, the Braves will first turn to Dylan Dodd, a 26-year-old in the Gwinnett rotation who has plenty of experience in the bigs. Dodd has made seven starts for the Braves so far this season, posting a 2-2 record and 7.60 ERA in the process.

Without Spencer Strider and now Fried, the Braves rotation will be virtually unrecognizable in the near future compared to Atlanta’s 2023 roster.

Even without Fried, the Braves’ starting pitching is formidable up top. However, it’s hard to ignore some looming issues with both Sale and Lopez. Sale has an extensive injury history and is therefore impossible to rely on for an entire season. Hopefully, he comes through unscathed, but it’s unwise to expect that. Lopez is a former relief pitcher turned starter. He’s one of Anthopoulos’ best additions from last winter. However, Atlanta will be keeping a close eye on his innings.

As Mark Bowman wrote in his recent newsletter, the Braves coaching staff is keeping a close eye on the innings of several starting pitchers.

“The rotation is one of the strongest in the game. But Spencer Schwellenbach could tire and there will be a need to monitor the workloads of Chris Sale and Reynaldo López as they attempt to complete their first full season as starters since 2019,” wrote Bowman.

This essentially makes the Braves’ plans clear for late July: They need to bring in a starting pitcher or they won’t live up to their World Series expectations. A starting pitcher isn’t their only need for July 30, but it’s clearly their most important addition.