The Atlanta Braves lost 7-4 to the San Diego Padres in an Opening Day letdown, but there were plenty of positives to take away from it. Chris Sale pitched five solid innings. Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley both went yard. And Drake Baldwin put together one of the most impressive 0-for-3 MLB debuts you'll ever see.
This season should be a return to form for Atlanta after the snakebitten, injury-ravaged 2024 campaign. Health is never a guarantee, but it can't possibly go as sideways as it did a year ago, right? Ronald Acuña and Spencer Strider are due back relatively soon, and the Braves gave their offense a nice shot in the arm with the Jurickson Profar signing.
If there's one thing Alex Anthopoulos neglected, however, it's the pitching staff. Atlanta still has the reigning Cy Young winner in Sale, not to mention Strider's imminent return, but depth is an issue. Reynaldo Lopez probably isn't built for 30-plus starts. Sale has a lot of injuries on his ledger. Grant Holmes, Atlanta's projected No. 5 starter, came out of the bullpen in this game. The bullpen itself — primarily leverage relief guys, like Hector Neris and Aaron Bummer — did not perform.
We shouldn't take too much away from a single-game sample size, but Atlanta lost Max Fried and Charlie Morton this winter. Neither was replaced. If the Braves want to avoid another season of flirting with disaster, they'd be wise to add a quality pitcher or two.
Look no further than their division rivals from South Beach.
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Sandy Alcántara looks like the perfect Braves target
The Miami Marlins beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in a ninth-inning walkoff on Thursday evening. It was a real low point for the perpetually mediocre Pirates, who are already wasting Paul Skenes. But it was a nice moment in the sun for the Marlins, a team sure to plummet to the bottom of the National League standings before long.
Miami's post-Kim Ng teardown has been a real travesty. This season promises to be a little bit better than 2024, however, if only because of a healthier rotation. Eury Perez is due back eventually, and Sandy Alcántara — the 2022 NL Cy Young winner coming back from Tommy John surgery — is back, well, right now. And he put some promising stuff on tape in his season debut.
It was not perfect outing, but Alcántara went 4.2 innings deep for Miami, allowing just two hits and two earned runs with seven K's. He more or less went blow-for-blow with Skenes, which is no small feat. He will also ramp up and go deeper into games as the season progresses. So the Marlins, while not very talented elsewhere, suddenly have a true ace back atop their rotation.
One has to think the Marlins look to cash in on the trade front eventually. This team is going nowhere fast and Alcántara is on an affordable contract through 2027. That means the Marlins can keep him if they choose, but his trade value is through the roof if he keeps doing stuff like this. Several contenders would give an arm and a leg for a controllable, top-of-rotation ace.
Sandy Alcántara throwing a Whiffle Ball.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 28, 2025
Over 2 FEET of Horizontal Break. pic.twitter.com/aTdCpxKvIG
Alcántara packs a nasty repertoire. When he's operating at full strength, he's not just a Max Fried replacement. He might be an upgrade.
The Braves need another quality starter to shoulder the load behind Sale and Strider. Alcántara feels like he's made from the right stuff. If Miami decides to sell high, like they always do, the Braves shouldn't think twice.