Ranking the 5 best Spencer Strider replacement options for Braves rotation

The Atlanta Braves are in trouble. It might seem crazy to say that just two weeks into the regular season, but that's where we are.

Atlanta's ace, Spencer Strider, suffered an elbow injury in his second start of the season, giving Braves fans reason to panic. There seems to be a very realistic possibility that he misses the rest of the 2024 campaign, which would be a disaster. Yes, Atlanta's offense and bullpen is still good enough for them to compete, but if they couldn't get over the hump with Strider, how exactly are they going to do so without him?

The Braves tasked Allan Winans to be Strider's first replacement, and given the fact that he was sent down immediately after his start on Thursday, it's safe to say that didn't go well. Darius Vines is next in line, but there's a good chance he'll have the same result.

Atlanta should call on any of these five pitchers to take Strider's spot in the rotation.

5. A Jesus Luzardo trade would be hard but not impossible for the Braves to pull off

This season could not have started any worse for the Miami Marlins who, coming off of a postseason appearance are just 2-11 on the season. What makes matters worse is there's little reason to believe in this team making a miraculous run with Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez, their two best pitchers, out for the season.

With this season going down the drain for the Marlins, making trades involving players who aren't part of their long-term plans makes sense, especially considering the state of their farm system. They'd love to keep Jesus Luzardo, a rising star, for a very long time, but with how they spend money, that seems unrealistic.

The Marlins don't have to trade Luzardo right now as he has two more years of control after this one, but this is when they'd get the most for him. That's not the kind of deal we usually see the Braves make, but Luzardo is a guy they can rely on to be a frontline starter for them this season if Strider misses the remainder of it, and next season assuming Max Fried departs in free agency.

Luzardo only ranks at No. 5 on this list because of how unlikely it is for a deal like this to get done. The Braves would have to part with more than they're comfortable with, and the Marlins would be sending him to a division rival very capable of extending him. Still, Atlanta should do whatever they can to try and convince the Marlins to agree to this kind of deal.

4. The Braves can sign Zack Greinke to eat innings

This is as underwhelming as it gets, but Zack Greinke is still sitting around in free agency waiting to get signed. Worse pitchers have been and will be signed.

His Cy Young days are long gone, but Greinke can still do one very valuable thing. Eat innings. We saw Winans attempt to do that on Thursday but he struggled to get through five. Greinke went at least five innings in 19 of his 27 starts, which isn't atrocious for the present day.

While his 5.06 ERA last season was not what you want to see, he did have a 4.74 FIP suggesting that he might've gotten a bit unlucky, and he had to pitch under constant stress for a Royals team that rarely scored runs.

This Braves offense is loaded, and they're strong defensively too. Adding a veteran in Greinke capable of allowing three runs in five or six innings per start can prove to be very valuable. If he proves that he can't pitch at all, Atlanta can simply cut him since he'd cost almost nothing to bring in at this point.

3. The Braves can make a high-upside play and promote A.J. Smith-Shawver

The Braves have two top pitching prospects that they've shown no desire to trade. The best of the two is A.J. Smith-Shawver, a right-hander who made his MLB debut last season and is ranked No. 64 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list.

Smith-Shawver making his MLB debut last season came as a bit of a surprise considering the fact that he began the year in High-A Rome, but he earned it with how well he pitched and progressed in the minors. He even held his own in MLB, posting a 4.26 ERA in six appearances (five starts) and 25.1 innings of work.

His slow start to his season in the minors is probably why Atlanta chose to bypass him this time around, but Smith-Shawver is almost certainly going to get a chance in the rotation at some point. His upside is unparalleled when deciding between him and pitchers of the Winans and Vines elk, and once given a chance to settle in, he might perform at a high level.

2. The Braves can make another trade with the Athletics

The Oakland Athletics have made two huge trades in the last three offseasons with the Braves and both have aged horrifically for the A's. The trades that sent Matt Olson and Sean Murphy to Atlanta might cause the Athletics to reject any call made by Alex Anthopoulos, and it'd be hard to blame them, but that doesn't mean that the Braves shouldn't try again - this time for Paul Blackburn.

Blackburn is nowhere near the star-level talent of Murphy or Olson, but he is a bonafide mid-rotation starter who can really help the Braves for this season and next. Again, with Fried's status up in the air, and the same can be said about Charlie Morton, the Braves would benefit by acquiring a pitcher with some club control if that's an option.

Blackburn is almost certainly on the block as he's 30 years old and not part of the A's future. With how bad Oakland is and expects to be, they might be willing to deal him right now for the right offer.

The right-hander is far from a star, but has pitched like one this season with 13 scoreless innings over his first two starts. While that won't continue, he's very capable of putting up an ERA at or even under 4.00. Going from the worst team in MLB to arguably the best could result in him reaching a new level as well. We've seen that happen with both Olson and Murphy.

1. It's time for Bryce Elder to make his return to the Braves rotation

The best option for the Braves right now is in-house, and it's Bryce Elder. Boring, absolutely, but he's still the best option.

The right-hander was one of the best stories of the first half last season, coming out of nowhere to make the All-Star team. His struggles in the second half are well-documented, and a big reason that Atlanta chose to carry Reynaldo Lopez as a starting pitcher over him.

With Lopez winning the fifth starter job, Elder was sent down to the minors. All Elder has done since is pitch well as he's posted a 2.61 ERA in his two starts for AAA Gwinnett.

He's a guy who has pitched well at the MLB level very recently and should be given another shot now that Strider is out. It made sense to let Elder work things out in the minors when everyone was healthy, but the Braves should turn to the most proven depth arm that they have at a time when they need quality length.