MLB Rumors: Grading the top-3 items on the Atlanta Braves offseason wish list

Pursuing starting pitching upgrades

In the National League Divisional Series, the Braves’ lack of starting pitching depth revealed itself as arguably the club’s biggest weakness.

Spencer Strider, the team’s ace, was healthy. But they were without Charlie Morton, one of their most important veteran pitchers. Max Fried, their best left-handed pitcher, was coming off a blister issue and allowed three runs, six hits and four walks in four innings pitched in a 5-4 loss to the Phillies. Kyle Wright, who won 21 games in 2022, pitched in only nine games this season and is out for the 2024 season.

So the Braves need rotation help. Badly.

The Braves tried for a starting pitcher at the trade deadline, according to sources, but ultimately came up empty. The free-agent class has an abundance of talented options, headlined by Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and Aaron Nola, among others.

But Anthopolous has shown an ability to be creative in trade talks, and has also shown that he can extend players as part of trades (see: Matt Olson, Sean Murphy). So it would hardly be a surprise to see Anthopolous explore the trade market and bolster a unit that needs multiple arms.