Braves downgrade 2023 NL All-Star in surprising rotation move before Opening Day

When it came to the Atlanta Braves' No. 5 rotation spot dilemma, one of two things were going to happen, barring some unforeseen late-winter trade: Either Bryce Elder got his groove back to reclaim his spot in the rotation, or newcomer Reynaldo Lopez would prove to be too good for the bullpen. While the first option was the preferred one, we are now living in a world where it is clearly the latter.

On Monday morning, the Braves optioned Elder and fellow right-hander Husacar Ynoa to Triple-A Gwinnett. This means Lopez will end up rounding out the Atlanta rotation that will prominently feature Max Fried, Charlie Morton, Chris Sale and Spencer Strider, in some order. In an ideal world, Elder would have pitched well enough in spring training to force Lopez back to the bullpen as the long arm.

Unfortunately, Elder had a dreadful spring. He boasted an 8.25 ERA over four starts, allowing 11 earned runs over the 12 innings he pitched. Elder had a 12-4 record a year ago with a 3.81 ERA over 174.2 innings pitched. While his strikeouts per nine innings were way up this spring (9.8) compared to what they were a year ago (6.6), Elder's second-half struggles seem to be more than just an anomaly.

With his 1.54 ERA over 11.2 innings in four appearances this spring, it will be Lopez's job to lose now.

Let's discuss what these latest transactions mean for the Braves now, and going forward just a bit.

Atlanta Braves option Bryce Elder, as Reynaldo Lopez is the No. 5 starter

In the short-term, Lopez will be able to show Braves Country what he has got as a starter in the early part of the season. While he has been a sub-.500 pitcher throughout most of his career, he spent pretty much all of the last four seasons being used out of the bullpen by primarily the Chicago White Sox. To me, it feels like he is keeping the seat warm until a top prospect will be recalled at a later date.

If that is indeed the case, that would lead me to believe that the No. 5 spot will go to either AJ Smith-Shawver or Hurston Waldrep at some point this season. Atlanta views Smith-Shawver as more of a starter than a reliever, whereas Waldrep is too new to the organization to have his role be clearly defined. In short, as soon as it makes sense for it to happen, Smith-Shawver will be back with Atlanta.

As for what this means for Elder, he will go back down to Triple-A and bide his time for whatever comes next. Atlanta has plenty of starting rotation depth, but the Braves seem to have a lot of Quad-A pitchers toeing the rubber for the Stripers. Given the Braves' status as World Series contenders, they will either stockpile arms for later use, or use someone like Elder to help acquire other players.

All I know is Alex Anthopoulos was right in his decision to go with Orlando Arcia over Vaughn Grissom.