While the Atlanta Braves did not get off to the start they envisioned this year, they've been playing much better lately and enter Tuesday's action with a 13-15 record. Being under .500 one month into the regular season is less than ideal, but considering the fact that the Braves were 5-13 not too long ago, it's hard for Atlanta fans not to feel some cautious optimism with where the team is record-wise.
The team certainly is playing better, but that does not mean that their roster construction is perfect. A lot of that has to do with injuries to key players like Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider, but there are moves the Braves can make even without those stars to make their current roster better.
One move in particular the Braves should strongly consider would be to send Bryce Elder back down to Triple-A, preferably as soon as possible.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Braves must send Bryce Elder down to Triple-A sooner rather than later
Elder was once seen as a potential building block in Atlanta. He was even an All-Star in the 2023 season. However, since the second half of that year, the right-hander has been completely overmatched at the MLB level, and only seems to be getting worse. This season, he has a 5.33 ERA in five starts and 27 innings of work, and it feels as if he's lucky to have his ERA where it is.
Elder has a 13.7 strikeout rate this season. He has never been much of a strikeout pitcher, but that 13.7 clip is well below even his career mark of 18.2 percent. Pitching to contact can be fine for some pitchers, but Elder's 8.5 percent walk rate is slightly above the MLB average of 8.4 percent, and his 5.1 percent home run rate is well above the league average of 3.0 percent. To sum up, he isn't missing bats, is walking a bit too many guys and gives up too many home runs. It doesn't sound like a recipe for success, and while his ERA is subpar at 5.33, his 5.88 FIP suggests it might only get worse.
The timing of this might seem weird given the fact that Elder has back-to-back quality starts under his belt, but there are a couple of things to consider. First, Elder has struck out just six batters and has walked five combined in those two outings. Second, one of those outings came against the historically bad Colorado Rockies. Sure, it was at Coors Field, but the Rockies are now 4-24 on the year; pitching fairly well against them is far from impressive for anyone at this point.
The one caveat to sending Elder down is that the Braves don't really have an ideal option to replace him. Strider and Reynaldo Lopez are hurt, and much of their Triple-A rotation has struggled.
With that being said, the Braves should know at this point that Elder is just not an MLB-caliber starter. He hasn't been for nearly two full seasons now. The options that the Braves have in the Minors might not be great, but who knows, they might surprise like Spencer Schwellenbach did, or be somewhat adequate like AJ Smith-Shawver.
The worst thing that the Braves can do is continue to trot Elder out to the mound every fifth day and expect different results. It might take some trial and error, but the Braves are better off experimenting with Elder's rotation spot rather than sticking with what they know doesn't work more often than not.