Ten years ago, the Braves fired — “terminated,” to invoke John Schuerholz’s merciless term — Frank Wren and set to rebuilding the Braves Way, meaning around pitching. The rebuild lasted four years. The Braves have since won six consecutive division titles and a World Series, which suggests that something worked. And yet ...
All that lovingly assembled young pitching has dwindled to Max Fried, who mightn’t be a Brave much longer, and Ian Anderson, who’s coming off Tommy John surgery.
Mike Foltynewicz, an All-Star in 2018, hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2021. Sean Newcomb, acquired in a trade involving Gold Glover Andrelton Simmons, was shed in another trade involving Jesse Chavez. (The Braves lead the world in deals involving Chavez, though it’s a crowded field.) Matt Wisler exited in Alex Anthopoulos’ first trade for Adam Duvall.
Touki Toussaint arrived, along with Bronson Arroyo’s contract, from Arizona; Toussaint left as a free agent. Acquired with Dansby Swanson in another D-back deal, Aaron Blair made six MLB starts. Flipped in that famous transaction was 2015 All-Star Shelby Miller, who came here for Jason Heyward in the first of John Copolella’s many moves. Luiz Gohara’s first big-league start came in 2017; his last came in 2018.
Over two days last November, the current administration purged itself of three pitchers who were, under previous Braves management, Round 1 draftees. Mike Soroka, an All-Star in 2019, was traded to the White Sox. Kyle Wright, a 21-game-winner in 2022, was sent to the Royals. Kolby Allard was allowed to become a free agent. (He has since signed with the Phillies.) Those three were drafted 28th, fifth and 14th overall.
John Hart, the team’s former president, admitted his club was dealing in bulk. Citing a baseball-ism, Hart said of pitchers, “It takes 10 to get one.” The past three paragraphs mentioned nine pitchers who are no longer Braves. Fried’s the one who was worth it, and he didn’t become a full-fledged starter until 2019, four years after he arrived in the Justin Upton trade.
It’s not as if any of those jettisoned pitchers has turned into Sandy Koufax. Poor Miller is, at 33, on his 11th organization. Still, it’s weird that the Braves, who spent four years grabbing every arm available, themselves ran low on arms last fall. They’ve since added Chris Sale, who’s 34, and Reynaldo Lopez, who’s 30.
Another adage: There’s no such thing as a pitching prospect — because the best young arm in the world is a twinge from a consultation with Dr. Andrews. Fried, Foltynewicz, Blair, Toussaint and Miller were someone else’s Round 1 picks; Wisler and Gohara were top 50 prospects. Schuerholz charged Coppolella and Hart with finding pitchers. They found pitchers, if not keepers.
We return to Wren, under whom the farm system was believed to have fallen fallow. In 2013, his Braves signed Ozzie Albies. A year later, they signed Ronald Acuna. They became huge parts of a minor-league system that would, under Coppolella/Hart, be rated baseball’s best. Today they’re huge parts of baseball’s best lineup. So is Austin Riley, the Braves’ third Round 1 pick — behind Allard and Soroka — in 2015.
The plan under Coppolella/Hart — both were shoved aside after MLB found the Braves violated rules in the international talent market — was to use excess pitching to acquire bats. Lately the Braves have become bat-heavy, if that’s possible. Thus was Vaughn Grissom sacrificed for Sale.
As we speak, the Braves might have just enough pitching. But 2025 could find them without Fried (free agent) and Charlie Morton (presumably retired), and what would be the workaround then?
One last baseball saying, this from Bobby Cox, who as Braves GM traded for John Smoltz and drafted Steve Avery: “When you think you’ve got enough pitching, better get some more.”
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