Some 5 1/2 months after the Braves left North Texas unfulfilled, after blowing 2-0 and 3-1 series leads in a seven-game NLCS loss to the eventual World Series champion Dodgers in Arlington, Texas, they begin again the quest for something that for one glorious decade was routine but has eluded the franchise throughout this century.
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The World Series.
They’ve talked openly about it all spring, though it remains unclear whether the goal is merely to get to the World Series or to win it, depending on whom you asked. But for now, one thing is clear: Anything short of the first NL pennant for Atlanta since 1999 will make this season a disappointment for the Braves, regardless of how talented the Dodgers are with their nearly quarter-billion-dollar payroll.
“Every year I talk about, ‘At least we got some experience in the playoffs for these young guys,’” said first baseman Freddie Freeman, the longest-tenured Brave and the NL MVP in 2020, his 11thseason. “That’s no more. We’ve got a good team. We were one win away from the World Series. That’s everyone’s goal, to get to the World Series and win it this year.”
With the Braves returning seven of their top eight OPS and RBI leaders from a team that led the majors in each of those statistics and returning eight of the top nine home run hitters from a team that trailed only the Dodgers in that category, there’s no concern about the lineup.
But the bench lacks power, and did we mention that Mark Melancon, Shane Greene and Darren O’Day are gone from last year’s bullpen?
The payroll is down from a year ago after a huge reduction in revenue due to the pandemic-shortened season without fans in the seats, and the Braves spent most of their available funds to re-sign Marcell Ozuna and fortify the starting rotation. This after spending most of last season making waiver claims and minor trades to add starting pitchers, and shuffling others back and forth between the major-league rotation and the bullpen or the alternate site.
Starters Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly were added on one-year deals totaling $26 million, the only big financial commitment made by the Braves since last season except for the key re-signing of NL home run and RBI leader Ozuna to a four-year, $65 million deal with a fifth-year option.
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Bringing back Ozuna was essential, the Braves agreed to a man. Once that deal was done in early February, their optimism was rampant.
“I think as a team we’re coming in with the same mentality that we had last year, but I think we’re coming in with even more hunger to reach the World Series,” right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. — a popular preseason MVP pick — said through an interpreter. “We were one game away from doing it. Last year is in the past, we don’t need to give that any more attention or pay any mind to it, but I think we’re just coming in with the same goal of getting to the World Series.”
The Braves say that while the World Series is the ultimate goal, the first aim is to again win the NL East, which they have done for three years running. They open the season with an intradivision series against the Phillies starting Thursday in Philadelphia, where Max Fried makes his first Opening Day start against Aaron Nola, who has a 3.13 ERA and 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings over the past three seasons.
Fried was 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 11 starts in the 60-game season, and the Braves were 10-1 in his regular-season starts last year, 3-1 in his four postseason starts and 35-10 in all of his starts over the past two years.
“I feel like every time Max goes out there, we’re confident,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “The guy’s a competitor. I love playing behind him. I know what you’re going to get out of him each and every start. His preparation is pretty unmatched when it comes to pitchers. He knows what he’s doing, and I know he loves to win just as much as I do. So I appreciate having a guy like him on the team.”
For the Braves to reach the World Series, and especially to win it, the biggest factor might be a starting rotation that’s better and deeper than a year ago, with the additions of Morton and Smyly and the return of young ace Mike Soroka expected by late April.
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Because while Atlanta’s potent offense returns almost intact from 2020, what was the NL’s deepest bullpen is the deepest no more, and relievers can’t be expected to cover almost nightly for a patchwork rotation that had the fewest innings and highest ERA among all NL starters in 2020.
Nor will they need to, unless the Braves have a rash of injuries and other setbacks akin to the litany of woes that befell the 2020 starters.
Considering the starters added and returning, and the experience gained by the young pitchers including Ian Anderson, Bryse Wilson and Kyle Wright, the Braves certainly aren’t expecting another gauntlet of grim like the series of rotation setbacks they had to overcome last season.
At this point last year, just before Opening Day, the Braves already had their biggest-named veterans, Cole Hamels and Félix Hernández, sidelined with a shoulder injury and seasonal opt-out, respectively. Mike Foltynewicz was coming off an alarmingly bad summer camp that proved to be a harbinger (he was sent to the alternate site after one start and never returned).
Sean Newcomb had an 11.20 ERA through four starts and was banished to the alternate site.
And of course there was the worst development, when Soroka crumpled to the ground with a torn Achilles on Aug. 3 in his third start.
Flash forward eight months, and there was Soroka on Tuesday, in the final weeks of his rehabilitation, making his spring debut by pitching the final two innings of the Grapefruit League finale, a 5-3 win against the Red Sox. Eyebrows were raised when he said in August that he wanted to be back by Opening Day from a procedure that usually takes at least nine to 12 months of recovery, but it looks like Soroka won’t be off by much.
Soroka allowed two hits, including a solo homer, and two walks with two strikeouts, and his usual pinpoint command wasn’t there. But he had a nasty breaking ball and his velocity was around 93 mph, only a tick below his usual.
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“It felt really good,” Soroka said. “It was kind of nice to get into trouble, get out there and keep making pitches, just like you would during the season. That’s something that you don’t feel the same in (simulated) games. But it was awesome to go out there, feel the arm work. I made a couple of adjustments, made a couple of good pitches, a couple of not-so-good pitches, and kind of moved on from there.”
Snitker smiled and said, “You could tell he hadn’t pitched in a while. But there were flashes of really good. I think it’s good for him to get out there and pitch against someone else, (which) was important. Obviously Mike and the medical staff and all the hard work they’ve done, it was good to see him get through that successfully and reward all of them for all the hard work they’ve done since he went down.
“It was a perfect way to end a really good spring training, on a good, positive note. This was an awesome spring by everybody, and this was probably the perfect way to end it, with getting him on the mound.”
Smyly started Tuesday and worked 4 2/3 innings of six-hit, walk-free ball with two runs, both unearned. He had 16 strikeouts with three walks in 13 2/3 innings this spring and finished with a 3.29 ERA in four starts, including no earned runs in three games.
“Made it out healthy, so I think that’s the biggest key,” said Smyly, who had a career-high 14.4 strikeouts per nine innings last season with San Francisco but missed five weeks — more than half of the season — with a strained index finger on his pitching hand. “My fastball command was really good today, the best it’s been this spring. So that was encouraging. The last few times out I had the curveball going. Today I had the curveball and the fastball. Just continuing to work on my cutter and getting that more in the zone. But yeah, I’m happy with how spring went.”
The Braves’ rotation will line up like this: Fried followed by Morton, a 2017 and 2018 All-Star, then rookie sensation Ian Anderson — 1.95 ERA in six regular-season starts, 2-0 with 0.96 ERA in four postseason starts — and Smyly at No. 4. Bryse Wilson will hold down the fifth spot until Soroka returns.
That’s not just an improved rotation from a year ago, that should be an exponentially better rotation.
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“Going in I feel really good about it,” Snitker said of the group, which has Huascar Ynoa and former first-rounders Kyle Wright and Touki Toussant joining Wilson as depth, with all likely to get starts during a season when the Braves plan to frequently give extra rest to starters. “I felt really good when we added Drew and Charlie, and what that would do for, again, a really young rotation. But I think the depth of it … you can’t have enough, as we saw last year. And as the guys at the alternate site continue to develop and grow, I feel really good about the rotation.”
The Braves still should have a solid to very good bullpen. It just won’t be the 10-deep unit that was able to cover so many innings last season after third- and fourth-inning exits from a patchwork rotation that didn’t come together and thrive until the end of the season and first two rounds of the playoffs, when Wright and Wilson stepped forward to give Fried and Anderson some help carrying the load.
Fried elevated his status in 2020, stepping forward after Soroka went down. Fried set the tone as relative elder statesman — despite being just 26 at the time — for a postseason rotation otherwise composed of rookies, a group that surpassed all reasonable expectations through the first two rounds and also got a brilliant start from Wilson in Game 4 of the NLCS, when he outpitched Clayton Kershaw.
“I still feel like I have a lot to learn,” Fried said when asked about an increased leadership role following a season when he made the All-MLB first team. “I definitely want to be able to be there for teammates, if anyone’s got any questions I’ll be more than happy to help, so we can go out there and win and achieve our goal of getting to the World Series and winning it. I’m definitely open to that. But we have a lot of really tenured guys that have a lot more experience than I do.
“I don’t know if the whole wily veteran thing, if I fit that description.”
Morton, 37, undoubtedly fits that description.
Morton is back with the Braves, his first organization. His start Saturday in Game 2 at Philadelphia will be his first official game for Atlanta since 2008, when he had a 6.15 ERA in eight starts as a rookie and was traded the following season while struggling in Triple A.
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Morton was an extreme late-bloomer, emerging as a frontline starter and postseason beast in his early 30s. He was 45-16 with a 3.28 ERA with the Astros and Rays from 2017 through 2019, making the American League All-Star team in the last two years of that tear and earning his first Opening Day start last season with the Rays.
When asked if he planned to take Fried aside and tell him what to expect on Opening Day, Morton said it wasn’t necessary. Not with Fried.
“I don’t really think he needs me to say anything to him,” Morton said. “For how young he is, he’s got it pretty well figured out. I got to experience it last year for the first time, and it kind of stunk (with no fans in the stands). It’s great because it’s an honor — that’s the thing, the organization, the staff, everybody showing you a great deal of respect by allowing you to go out and pitch the first game. For me, that’s what it’s really about.
“So even though there weren’t any fans there last year when I got to experience it for the first time, I got to do it. That’s what really matters. It’s just a great sign of respect.”
All four Silver Slugger award winners return to the Braves’ lineup, and their defense should be improved with rookie Cristian Pache in center field — his offense is a question mark, but the comparisons of Pache to a young Andruw Jones defensively are valid — and with Acuña expected to be used almost exclusively in right field, where his arm is a weapon and he won’t have to expend as much energy as he does when he’s used in center.
That’s an important move for Acuña, who has a legitimate shot at being the fifth member of the 40-homer, 40-stolen base club if he can stay healthy all season.
“This is a great team on both parts of the field — defensively, offensively,” said versatile veteran newcomer Ehire Adrianza, who outplayed incumbent utility man Johan Camargo all spring, leading to Camargo being optioned to the alternate site. “There’s great pitching. The chemistry is right there, you know? I think this team has got a very good chance to be in the World Series this year, so I’m looking forward to it.”
(Photo of Charlie Morton: Nathan Ray Seebeck / USA Today)
