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Braves Have a Lot of Work Left to do With Time Running Out

By Jake Mastroianni

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 02: Ozzie Albies #1, Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 and Johan Camargo #17 of the Atlanta Braves look on from the bench during th egame against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 2, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Atlanta Braves defeated the New York Yankees 5-3 in eleven innings. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 02: Ozzie Albies #1, Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 and Johan Camargo #17 of the Atlanta Braves look on from the bench during th egame against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 2, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Atlanta Braves defeated the New York Yankees 5-3 in eleven innings. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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While the pace of the offseason is picking up, the Atlanta Braves still have a lot of work to do before the 2021 season begins. 

It’s not just that the Atlanta Braves need a big bat — we all know that’s priority number one — but there are several smaller moves that need to be made as well.

While I believe this roster at full strength, with the addition of another bat or two, is more than capable of winning the NL East and making a deep run in the postseason — I worry about the depth of the Braves.

The starting rotation is the only area that has plenty of depth with at least seven guys I feel pretty comfortable with. But we all know how quickly starting pitching depth can evaporate.

They could certainly use another veteran bullpen arm or two and there are plenty of good options available that can be had for pretty cheap — even if they just bring back Mark Melancon and Shane Greene.

But right now the top guys in the bullpen are A.J. Minter, Tyler Matzek, Chris Martin, Will Smith, and Jacob Webb.

There is depth there with guys like Luke Jackson, Grant Dayton, Josh Tomllin, and perhaps Sean Newcomb.

However, I’d feel more comfortable replacing one of those guys with a more proven arm. And honestly, I’d like to see the Braves start targetting more power arms for the bullpen. That seems to be what has more success in the postseason.

Right now on the bench, you have Johan Camargo, Jack Mayfield, and Abraham Almonte.

One of those spots will be taken up by a back-up catcher. I’m fine with giving that spot to Alex Jackson or William Contreras rather than throw away another $4 million on someone like Tyler Flowers — if not Flowers himself.

Last season the bench really didn’t matter with the DH. But if we’re planning on there not being a DH in the NL this season, then that bench isn’t going to get it done.

Quite frankly, the depth of this team from an offensive standpoint scares me a great deal. Especially considering there are already a couple of holes in the lineup.

We’ve seen how important depth can be for a team like the Dodgers over the years who have been able to call players off the bench and get great results.

Next. Is this Realmuto?. dark

It’s cliche to say, but it really does take a roster of 26 players that you can depend on in order to win a World Series. The Braves aren’t close to that right now. Alex Anthopoulos has a lot of work to do between now and Opening Day.

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