Coming week to give Braves a preview of 2026 rotation

ATLANTA -- Spencer Strider will further distance himself from last year’s elbow surgery, and Hurston Waldrep will try to strengthen his National League Pitcher of the Month Award résumé. And to further highlight a rare week of good news for the Braves’ rotation, Chris Sale will make his first start in more than two months on Saturday night in Philadelphia.

“I can’t wait to get [Sale] back and get him in the mix, especially with the way Hurston has been throwing,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Joey [Wentz] didn’t throw great the other day, but he’s been throwing the ball really, really good. Bryce [Elder], it would be great if he could get on a roll to finish this thing out, too.”

The good Elder was on display as the Braves avoided a three-game sweep with a 4-3 win over the Mets on Sunday afternoon at Truist Park. His six strong innings set the stage for Sean Murphy, who had a game-tying two-run single in the sixth, and Jurickson Profar, who delivered the game-winning single to shallow center with two outs in the eighth.

Braves fans can certainly delight in the fact their team bruised the Mets’ playoff bid by taking eight of 13 games against the NL East rival from New York this year. But the thrill of this late-inning rally was subdued by the reality that Atlanta is likely to miss the postseason for the first time since 2017.

Sitting 10 games behind the Mets in the battle for the final NL Wild Card spot with 32 games remaining, the Braves can begin looking toward 2026 with the hope of avoiding the injury woes that decimated this year’s starting rotation.

Sale, Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach, who has been out since late June with a fractured right elbow, are part of Atlanta’s projected 2026 rotation. You could also pencil in Waldrep, who has a 0.73 ERA in the four appearances (three starts) he has made since making his season debut on Aug. 3. Reynaldo López, who made one start before undergoing season-ending right shoulder surgery, says he wants to remain a starter when he returns next year.

If the Braves give López his wish instead of placing him in the bullpen, the projected starting five would likely consist of those pitchers. But as was proven numerous times this year, the next three or four pieces are as important as the first five in a rotation.

Some of the potential depth pieces include Elder, Wentz and Grant Holmes, who is hoping to avoid Tommy John surgery to repair a damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Elder, who will have a Minor League option remaining next year, would provide quality depth if he pitches like he did while limiting the Mets to two earned runs in both starts he made against them this month.

But inconsistencies have plagued Elder since he earned an All-Star selection in his 2023 rookie season. He has a 6.12 ERA in 22 starts this year. The highest ERA by a Braves pitcher of the Atlanta era (since 1966) over 20-plus starts in a season is the 6.14 Pascual Perez posted over 22 starts in 1985.

How Elder fares the rest of the way remains to be seen. But he believes he and the rest of the rotation will benefit from the return of Sale, who has been on the injured list since fracturing a left rib on June 18.

“I think it helps us, and I think it also helps the lineup, too,” Elder said. “You just kind of have that staple there every week that even on a bad week, you know, it's not going to be very bad.”

Sale’s injury was followed by the revelation that Schwellenbach fractured his right elbow a little more than a week later. By the time Holmes suffered a right elbow injury in July, Atlanta’s entire Opening Day rotation was on the injured list.

This has been a rough year for the Braves’ starters. But if Sale gets to make five or six starts, Strider ends his recent struggles and the potential depth pieces finish strong, the Atlanta rotation could go into the offseason feeling good about what 2026 might bring.

“Players who get opportunities, they need to do well so you feel good about them when the season is over and you're thinking about them for the future,” Snitker said. “If they don't [do well], then you're not going to feel so good.”