Atlanta Braves

Braves rotation after Teheran remains undecided

Atlanta Braves new pitching coach Rick Kranitz works with Sean Newcomb in the bullpen during spring training at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, in Lake Buena Vista.    Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
Atlanta Braves new pitching coach Rick Kranitz works with Sean Newcomb in the bullpen during spring training at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, in Lake Buena Vista. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
March 18, 2019

The Braves declared Julio Teheran their opening-day starter, but the remainder of the rotation has yet to be sorted out.

“After Julio, it’s still up in the air where we’ll go from there, manager Brian Snitker said. “We have options. We have guys lined up.”

The obvious two following Teheran would be Sean Newcomb and Kevin Gausman. The latter has endured shoulder soreness through spring but is expected to make his first start.

Mike Foltynewicz will open the season on the injured list. The team is hopeful he’ll return in mid-April.

Kyle Wright, Touki Toussaint and Max Fried are the lead candidates to fill out the rotation. With Foltynewicz sidelined, the team may carry an extra youngster it otherwise wouldn’t.

If the Braves start the trio of Teheran, Newcomb and Gausman in the opening series, that’d slate one of the young arms to start the home opener against the Cubs.

Opening day is March 28 in Philadelphia, so the team still has time to decide how it wants to round out its rotation. Snitker anticipates that decision coming by the end of the week.

“We’re not locked into anything,” Snitker said. “We have a lot of guys who are in position to fill out the remainder of the series and start the home series.”

About the Author

Gabriel Burns is a general assignment reporter and features writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After four years on the Braves beat, he's expanded his horizons and covers all sports. You'll find him writing about MLB, NFL, NBA, college football and other Atlanta-centric happenings.

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