The Philadelphia Phillies received brutal news on Sunday morning, as closer Jose Alvarado was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. While Phillies fans are rightly in shambles – Alvarado had converted all seven of his save opportunities and the Phils bullpen could be a mess without him – the Braves were gifted an opportunity.
Atlanta is in third place in the NL East following a bad start to the regular season. The Braves lost their first seven games of the campaign, and have been charging uphill ever since. Despite a loss to the Boston Red Sox in painful fashion thanks to their own bullpen meltdown on Saturday, the Braves are just 6.5 games back in the division. They are five games back of the Phillies in the National League Wild Card race, as well.
The East always figured to be a three-team race between the Mets, Phillies and Braves. The Braves have a run in them at some point, and if they can time it right – say, in the next week – they can take advantage of a Phillies team that is trying to rebuild its bullpen on the fly. Will Jordan Romano return to form? Is Matt Strahm the answer? Could Dave Dombrowski trade for Ryan Helsley, who the Phils were linked to earlier this season? Braves fans don't know the answer to those questions, and it's not their problem.
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Braves have a golden opportunity after Phillies bullpen setback
The Braves received a gift on Sunday morning, and it is Brian Snitker's job to take advantage of that. Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. should both be back in the next few weeks. A roster that was lacking some serious star power suddenly is as close to full strength as they could hope for in 2025. Strider in particular should fortify the Atlanta rotation that has struggled in the back end.
Acuña Jr. will take it slow when he does finally reach the bigs again – especially given he'll be facing big-league pitching for the first time in a year – but eventually should somewhat resemble the player Braves fans have come to love. Heck, even at 80 percent, Acuña Jr. is a better outfielder and slugger than most, and a borderline All-Star talent. At his best, he's a perennial MVP candidate.
One team's setback is a rival's opportunity. It's time for the Braves to pounce.