ATLANTA -- A little more than a week after celebrating Chris Sale’s diving stop of a Juan Soto groundout, the Braves have to face the reality that the selfless hustle might end up being the decisive blow in a frustration-filled season.
Bryce Elder surrendering nine earned runs over two-plus innings of a 13-0 loss to the Phillies at a rain-soaked Truist Park on Friday night further highlighted how thin the Braves’ rotation will be while Sale likely remains sidelined into August with the cracked left ribs he suffered when he stopped Soto’s ninth-inning comebacker.
“I don’t think [Sale] is one of those guys who is replaceable,” Elder said. “We’ve got to pick up what we can. It’s tough to replace him, but you’ve got to do better than that.”
Losers of three straight, the Braves have entered the regular season’s second half seven games under .500 and 7 1/2 games back in the Wild Card race. This is the second time Atlanta has been shut out in consecutive games this year, but it’s just the fourth time the club has experienced this going back to the start of 2015.
And to further highlight how ugly this night was, Elder became the third Braves pitcher (second starter) to allow nine-plus runs over two innings or less. Aaron Blair did this on May 17, 2016, which was coincidently the night Brian Snitker began his stint as Atlanta’s manager. Taylor Phillips also did this in a relief appearance on July 15, 1957.
Atlanta’s offense, which has been burdened by the steep declines of Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II, could get a boost from Jurickson Profar’s return from a PED suspension on Tuesday. The bullpen will improve with consistency from Raisel Iglesias.
But how can the Braves improve a rotation that currently includes Spencer Schwellenbach, Spencer Strider, Grant Holmes, Elder and 20-year-old Didier Fuentes, whose two MLB starts account for a quarter of the eight he’s made above the High-A level?
The Braves could certainly look to land a starter via trade. But it’s not like they have a surplus of prospects with strong trade value. The fact that they are sticking with Fuentes, after he’s allowed 10 earned runs through his first 8 1/3 career innings, creates further concern about Hurston Waldrep, a 2023 first-round pick who has a 13.2 percent walk rate with Triple-A Gwinnett.
Reynaldo López made just one start before undergoing a shoulder surgery that will sideline him into August and possibly limit him to bullpen duties this year. AJ Smith-Shawver underwent Tommy John surgery after making a strong bid for NL Rookie of the Year. And Sale’s bid for a second straight Cy Young Award was strong when he tossed 8 2/3 scoreless innings against the Mets last week.
“[Strider] is getting his thing together and the other guys, and then you lose a guy like that,” Snitker said. “It’s hard. You can’t replace Chris Sale.”
There’s still established talent in the rotation. Schwellenbach led MLB in innings after his most recent start and Strider is starting to look more like the dominant pitcher he was before undergoing elbow surgery last year. Holmes has been outstanding. But he’s on pace for 180 innings after totaling 109 1/3 innings last year and 63 innings in 2023.
Along with being concerned about Holmes’ potential fade, the Braves must determine how long they can stick with Fuentes, even if he’s just used as an opener to get through a lineup once. He had a 4.98 ERA in five starts at Double-A. It’s not like he’s a top prospect who has proven he’s ready.
The rotation might feel more stable if Elder wasn’t trending in the wrong direction. The 2023 All-Star entered this ugly outing having allowed nine earned runs over nine combined innings in his past two starts against the Rockies and Marlins.
If it could go wrong it did for Elder, who sat through Friday’s two-hour, 19-minute rain delay after fully warming up with the expectation the game would start on time at 7:15 p.m. ET. He walked in a run in the first inning, surrendered homers to Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos in the second and allowed Otto Kemp’s first career homer in a six-run third.
The Braves couldn’t scratch Elder two days after Fuentes was chased in the fourth inning against the Mets. They ended up getting 2 2/3 innings from Michael Petersen, who hadn’t completed more than two innings at the pro level since 2019.
Meanwhile, one day after tallying two hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings after Mets starter Griffin Canning tore his left Achilles tendon, the Braves tallied two hits over two scoreless innings against Tanner Banks, who started because the Phillies didn’t want Mick Abel to pitch after warming up and sitting through the long delay.
So, maybe the rotation isn’t the greatest concern. Instead, it’s just one of the many that the Braves must evaluate while debating whether Sale’s injury will eventually force them to be sellers before the July 31 Trade Deadline.