ATLANTA -- There is plenty to unload as the Braves transition from a nightmarish 0-7 road trip to their home opener against the Marlins on Friday night. Here are some of my thoughts about the first week:
Bullpen construction: Multi-year deals for free-agent relievers are risky because of the volatile nature of the average reliever¡¯s performance. So, I didn¡¯t hate the attempt to round up as many non-roster invitees as possible to see if you could find a Tyler Matzek-type gem in Spring Training. Craig Kimbrel could end up bringing some value, but for now, this approach was like coming up empty with a handful of $1 scratch-off tickets. That happens.
And even if Kimbrel proves effective, the 'pen is still at least one arm short. So, yeah, many of you were justified with your complaints about not addressing the losses of A.J. Minter and Joe Jim¨¦nez.
What remains questionable was the decision to designate H¨¦ctor Neris for assignment two days after asking him to protect a one-run seventh-inning lead on Opening Day. He had just three weeks of Spring Training. Still, he was deemed the best option there. What does that say about the other options? And better yet, what does the quick DFA say about the evaluation that he was ready and capable of getting big outs?
Rotation loss: The Braves will spend most, if not all, of this season without Reynaldo L¨®pez, whose 2024 late-season shoulder issues filtered into this year. Transitioning him from reliever to starter seemed like a good idea for about four months. But you now have to think his shoulder issues were influenced by last year¡¯s big workload jump. After not completing more than 66 innings in 2022 and ¡¯23, he completed 135 2/3 innings in ¡®24.
L¨®pez was on the injured list in August and September. But the Braves were still comfortable with committing to another season by restructuring his contract in November. So this is the first year of his three-year, $30 million deal.
The fact that L¨®pez, Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach all significantly exceeded expectations from a durability standpoint last year was the primary reason the Braves needed to add starting pitching depth. They agreed to a five-year, $45-48 million deal with Jeff Hoffman in November, but backed out because of concerns about his shoulder. Hoffman would have been used as a starter and Grant Holmes would have likely filled a bullpen spot.
But even with the addition of Holmes and Kimbrel, we may still see the bullpen as thin. As for the rotation, Spencer Strider will likely make two more rehab starts before joining a group that is now going to heavily depend on AJ Smith-Shawver and Bryce Elder.
Profar¡¯s suspension: Remember how angry Freddie Freeman, Nick Markakis, A.J. Pierzynski and other Braves players were at Andrew McKirahan when he was suspended for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2015? Why didn¡¯t we hear the same anger aimed at Jurickson Profar this week?
McKirahan was a Rule 5 selection who didn¡¯t factor into the team¡¯s long-term plans. Profar is in the first week of the three-year, $42 million deal he signed in January. He¡¯ll be playing alongside most current Braves for a few more years.
Profar will have to regain the favor of teammates and fans, who now have reason to be skeptical about his 2024 season. He homered once every 67.7 at-bats and produced a .793 OPS over 232 plate appearances at Coors Field in 2023. He then homered once every 23.5 at-bats while setting career highs in homers (24) and OPS (.839) with the Padres last year. He said he made some mechanical adjustments while working with Fernando Tatis Sr. None of this will minimize the skepticism.
The Braves viewed Profar as the second-best free agent hitter this winter. Can he still be the guy they envisioned?