3 Braves players who won't survive May on the MLB roster

With Spencer Strider done for the season, Ronald Acuña Jr. struggling, and Sean Murphy out since Opening Day you might've thought that the Atlanta Braves have gotten off to a disappointing start to this season, but their start has been anything but. The Braves enter play on Monday with the best record in all of MLB, sitting at 19-7 26 games in.

While the players who generate the most headlines haven't lived up to their end of the bargain, the Braves have gotten tremendous contributions out of guys like Marcell Ozuna and Reynaldo Lopez, showcasing their absurd depth in the process.

While most of Atlanta's roster is completely set, there are three players who might not be on the roster by the time the month of May comes to an end.

3. Chadwick Tromp will get sent down when Sean Murphy returns

The Braves were dealt a big blow right away with Sean Murphy suffering an oblique injury on Opening Day. He has been out ever since. The Braves haven't given out an official timeline for his return, but the fact that he has missed one month already and is reportedly catching bullpen sessions according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman, a return in May is not unrealistic.

Assuming Murphy does return sometime in May, that'll be the end of the line for Chadwick Tromp in a Braves uniform, at least until they need a third-string catcher.

In Murphy's absence, the Braves have the tremendous luxury of turning to Travis d'Arnaud, a player who'd start for many teams, to start games for them while Tromp has acted as the backup. Tromp has done a pretty decent job too, hitting .269 on the season in 10 games and 26 at-bats. He's a solid depth option to have and will remain with the team until Murphy is ready to play.

2. The Braves have no need for Luke Williams on their active roster

The Braves are a team fortunate to run the same lineup out just about every day. It changes when injuries occur, but for the most part, it's the same nine every single game. That's a luxury no other team has.

Six of their starting nine have played in all 26 of their games. Ozzie Albies would've made a seventh had he not suffered a toe injury. The only players who rest are those in their left field platoon, and their catchers.

While this puts the Braves in a tremendous position to win every game, it hurts their bench. Forrest Wall opened the season on Atlanta's roster but rarely ever saw the field, so Atlanta sent him down. They replaced him with Luke Williams who has just two appearances, both coming as a pinch runner. He has been up for ten days, and he has barely seen the field.

Eventually, Williams will presumably get the Wall treatment. Keeping him on the bench for a prolonged stretch without seeing any action can lead to him not being ready to play when the Braves actually need him. It's hard to see him sitting in the dugout for another month, only coming on the field to run a couple of times. At some point, Atlanta will bring in a fresh body to take Williams' spot on the bench.

1. Tyler Matzek is playing his way off of the Braves roster

The one player on this list who has had opportunities and has not made the most of it is Tyler Matzek. The 33-year-old was an instrumental piece of their 2021 World Series run but underwent Tommy John Surgery after the 2022 campaign, knocking him out for all of 2023.

He returned to action this season and pitched well in spring training but has simply not looked like the same guy out of the bullpen.

In his ten appearances, Matzek has a 7.71 ERA, allowing eight runs on 14 hits in 9.1 innings of work. He's done well avoiding walks but has given up a ton of hard contact as evidenced by his Baseball Savant page.

Perhaps the Braves will give Matzek more time to rebound from his early-season struggles, but they have guys like Ray Kerr, Daysbell Hernandez, Ken Giles, and Jackson Stephens all in AAA worthy of getting a shot on a big league roster. Eventually, it's on Matzek to show that he belongs. He's a fan favorite for a reason, but at the end of the day, this is about winning. If he isn't going to help them do that, he won't last long.