What will Atlanta Braves starting rotation look like in April?

Earlier today reports surfaced that Atlanta Braves starter Brandon Beachy will be visiting Dr. James Andrews along with teammate Kris Medlen. The prevailing thought is that both Braves starters will have each undergo what would be their second Tommy John surgery.

So here is what the Braves projected starting rotation was coming into this spring:

Kris Medlen
Brandon Beachy
Julio Teheran
Freddy Garcia
Alex Wood

Mike Minor, who is also recovering from offseason surgery, would likely have replaced either Garcia or Wood when he returned, but he will probably start the season on the disabled list as he has yet to pitch in a live game.

So without the services of Medlen and Beachy (which almost seems like a forgone conclusion at this point) that leaves Teheran, Garcia and Wood.

Champion Stadium is starting to look more like Champion Hospital.

The Braves signed free agent Ervin Santana earlier in the week to help fill the void that would inevitably be left by Medlen. Now it would seem like the young David Hale will have to step in as well if needed.

Hale has two career starts, and Wood has 11. The fallback if another pitcher should go down? Gavin Floyd….also recovering from Tommy John surgery.

It may be time for Braves CEO Terry McGuirk to expand the payroll (again) and go after another frontline pitcher (one Jeff Samardzija springs to mind) regardless of cost. That is, if the Braves are truly in a “winning” mode, as he stated.