After acquiring infielder Ruben Gotay and making five more cuts Friday, the Braves are down to one final pitching spot before they complete their 25-man roster.

The two biggest contenders who lost their shot at the bench Friday were utility hopeful Brent Lillibridge and fourth-outfielder contender Josh Anderson, both of whom were optioned to Class AAA Richmond.

Joining them in Richmond will be backup catcher Clint Sammons, reliever Jeff Ridgway and outfielder Joe Borchard.

That leaves utility infielders Gotay and Martin Prado, outfielder Gregor Blanco, utility player and catcher Brayan Pena and backup catcher Corky Miller occupying the five bench positions.

The final spot on the pitching staff comes down to Jeff Bennett and Buddy Carlyle, one of whom will open the season in John Smoltz's roster spot because Smoltz will be on the disabled list. Bennett has the edge based on his spring performance.

The bullpen was otherwise set after the Braves traded Tyler Yates to the Pirates on Wednesday, leaving Rafael Soriano, Peter Moylan, Manny Acosta, Will Ohman, Chris Resop, Royce Ring, and Blaine Boyer.

Blanco nailed down the fourth outfielder's job over Anderson after out-hitting him .341 to .260 this spring.

This will be Blanco's first major-league action after spending seven years in the Braves' minor-league system.

"[Anderson] and Blanco are real close," manager Bobby Cox said. "Both of them belong in the big leagues. We may switch around later on; we'll see what happens. But Blanco had a real good spring, had a good year last year, I think he was [runner-up] MVP during the Venezuelan winter league. He deserves a crack. He's been here a long time in the organization."

After being first acquired as a potential fill-in for Andruw Jones in center field early in the offseason, Anderson will instead start his season in AAA.

"I feel like I could help this team out, and I hope I get that opportunity," Anderson said. "I'm going to go down there, get the at-bats, work hard and see what happens. God's blessed with an opportunity. I did the best I could. I hope I get another opportunity here soon."

Lillibridge was assigned to Richmond, where he ended last season, after hitting only .214 this spring and striking out 18 times in 56 at-bats. The Braves would like to see him get more time in the minors getting regular work.

"It's never good news when you hear that, but I've just got to wait my turn and play down there a bunch and wait for whatever's going to happen to happen," Lillibridge said. "I've got plenty of stuff to work on, but the biggest thing is keep doing what I've been doing the last three years."

This will be a take-two for Pena, who started last season as the Braves' backup catcher before suffering a concussion and losing that job to Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Not that he's taking anything for granted.

"It feels like these last 24 hours are the longest of my life," Pena said.

For Prado, it's the first time he'll open a season in the big leagues. He played 52 games in Atlanta over the course of the past two seasons, hitting .277 along the way.

The Braves have until midnight tonight to finalize their 25-man roster for Opening Day. General manager Frank Wren isn't ruling out a last-minute move.

"A lot can happen as clubs makes their final decisions ... you never know who might call, and who might be available," Wren said.