Let me clear the air first…
- I am not panicking.
- Every year, news leaks about players and their health and most injuries or setbacks work themselves out before Opening Day.
Alright…now I’ll talk shop.
Hiccups in Braves Rotation
The rotation’s top 4 have been set for some time now. It’s a strong top 4 with Max Fried leading the way followed by Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton, and Kyle Wright. From there, there’s a collection of stout pitchers bidding for the 5th rotation spot in Michael Soroka, Ian Anderson, and Bryce Elder. Behind that group, you’ll find Darius Vines and Kolby Allard. And while it isn’t uncommon to hear about minor setbacks when players report to camp, there were 2 news drops that made this fan feel a little uneasy.
And…
The Soroka thing we already knew and while a sore hammy isn’t anything to get worked up about…if that was all that Soroka was trying to come back from. However, tearing an achilles twice, recurring elbow issues, rebuilding mechanics, AND now adding a sore hamstring, all the while sitting out of baseball for the most part of 2 years, would make anyone skeptical about a return.
And while hearing the 2 words “forearm tightness” is likely the scariest thing to hear from a baseball beatwriter, hearing anything that discusses “shoulder inflammation” gives me PTSD from the Brandon Beachy era.
As with all, it’s my hope that both Soroka and Wright are able to stay healthy, grab a rotation spot, and kick some serious gluteus maximus in 2023, but now that a Huascar Ynoa or Tyler Matzek‘s roster spot can be up for grabs after AA sends them to the 60-day IL, will the Braves look to add depth to their starting pitching group? I doubt it, but we’ll take a look at starting pitching free agents left to determine the best fit.
Remaining Free Agent Starting Pitchers
Chris Archer (34)
*Trevor Bauer (32)
Dylan Bundy (30)
Dallas Keuchel (35)
Mike Minor (35)
Michael Pineda (34)
Anibal Sanchez (39)
*First off, we all know who’s the best pitcher in this group but there’s a reason why all 30 MLB teams are staying away from him. That’s all I’ll say about Mr. Bauer and I’d rather not discuss this in the comments.
Breakdown: This list contains some good names, but is full of poor results, bad shoulders, declining velos, and walk rates that are way too close to strikeout rates. For me, there’s only one choice to fill out the rotation, if filling out the rotation is truly needed, and that is Anibal Sanchez. He’ll be 39 in 2023, but he can still keep a team in the game and cover innings. Like everyone else, his K and BB rates are too close for comfort, but I’d take his veteran status at number 5 in the rotation over the others that might not even be able to throw 2 consecutive innings, much less 5.
So…Anibal? Will you take a split contract?
Love,
AA
I’ll start clutching the pearls……I’m sure it gonna be……fingers crossed. Really hoping to count on 180 innings from wright this year…..dam. Maybe will be able to.
That Wright needs a cortisone shot in Feb is not exactly reassuring.
It’s easy to overreact about Soroka’s hamstring. I’m not worried. He’s going to be fun to root for.
I’d love to think that Anderson is going to come back in 2023, but I don’t think it’s going to be easy for him to remake himself, although I have confidence he will in a few seasons.
I agree about Anibal. He can hold down the back end in April and May and help Anderson. The man should be a pitching coach.
The Soroka news gets a strong “meh” from me; he’s kind of fragile, yes. We knew that already. The hammy doesn’t actually have anything to do with the burst Achilles, really, despite being in a similar place.
The cortisone shot for Wright is actually kind of worrying, to me. I am not a doctor, but I understand cortisone is usually a stopgap pain reliever when there’s some larger problem that is not fixable in the short term, which is not my favorite description of an issue one of our SPs might have in the preseason.
Whenever someone breaks out the “these injuries are completely unrelated; he’ll be fine” argument, I always remember arguing with Nationals fans in the mid-aughts who were convinced that this year Nick Johnson was going to be fully healthy, because his most recent freak debilitating injury didn’t have anything to do with the last one, and there was no reason whatsoever to expect either of them to recur or have lasting aftereffects. (Or Byron Buxton, if Nick Johnson is too dated a reference.) Health is a skill; it’s got to be demonstrated like any other.
I’m pulling for Soroka because he’s a beast when he’s actually on the field and seems like one of the sharpest guys in the game, but he’s firmly in “I’ll believe it when I see it” territory.
4 — A Braves reference would be Mike Hampton from the mid-to-late aughts.
Edit from Ryan:
Can y’all see this link?
@4 I would agree! I’m just sayin’, a tight hamstring should be resolved relatively soon, maybe it’ll have lasting effects, maybe it won’t, but it doesn’t change my general assessment of Soroka, which is not really different from yours. I definitely did not mean to be saying “he’d be fine,” but rather, I expect Soroka to catch stuff like that even if he ends up pitching well.
In contrast, Wright needing a cortisone shot does change my overall assessment of him. That’s a real concern that I expect will not be resolved this season.
@6 – I see it at least.
@4 I think that’s fair. Ya know, if Soroka keeps having random setback after random setback, then there becomes a common denominator: him.
Reggie Sanders was a guy we had for a year that could never stay completely healthy. He only played 103 games for us; he never played more than 140 games in his 17 year career.
Jacob deGrom hasn’t made more than 15 starts in the last 3 years. At some point, well, it’s on you.
Soroka needs to make 20 starts this year, or he’s going to get close to running out of chances.
He’s not getting anything handed to him, but he’s welcome to keep trying. At a certain point, you might suggest to the player that they try a 60-inning a year gig rather than a 200-inning-a-year gig. If the next couple of years go like the last couple if years, I’d just hand him a blank contract to stay with the team as a roving minor league instructor and tell him he’s got a job whenever he wants. But I’d give him every opportunity to pitch his way onto the club. Why not?
The crapshoot!
@10 Wow. You’ve thrown in the towel on this guy. He’s Hampton. He’s a charity case. I guess we’ll see.
Spring Training is the best.
Greetings from Las Vegas…
#11
At my hotel’s sports book, the Braves are the 2nd-shortest odds — Astros were on top.
Slim pickings this week with the NBA on hold ’til Thursday. The big board was so unthrilling that I had to bet against my alma mater tonight in a hoops parlay. Sad to say, that one was pure charity.
#6
From the “Greatest Hits Collection.”
I too have thrown in the towel on the guy. He hasn’t pitched meaningfully in almost 3 years and the # of MLB pitchers that have been successful after not doing so can probably be counted on one or two hands, if that.
He seems to be made of glass. It’s not just this hamstring tweak.
This piece was a lot of fun, h/t to Craig Calcaterra.
https://theadvancescout.substack.com/p/the-mets-secret-pickoff-play
We have a new thread!