Photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC0The Braves Had the Money. They Had the Warning. They Did Nothing.
Five starters on the IL, $52 million in cap space unspent, and Bassitt and Buehler signing elsewhere. Someone in the front office needs to answer for this.
I'm 82% sure the Braves' front office owes Atlanta an explanation.
Five starting pitchers on the IL before Opening Day. Five. Alex Anthopoulos told reporters in February he was "looking for a playoff starter." He didn't find one. He didn't try to find one. Chris Bassitt signed with the Orioles for $18.5 million — a pitcher who has started 27-plus games every season since 2019. Walker Buehler went to Boston for $21 million. The Braves had $32-52 million in space under the competitive balance tax.
They chose to spend it on nothing.
Battery Power wrote on March 15 — nine days ago — that the rotation plan works "as long as all five Opening Day starters don't hit the 60-Day IL at some point during this season like they did during the 2025 season." Nine days later, Strider is on the IL and the rotation is Sale, Lopez, Holmes, Elder, and a coin flip.
Terry McGuirk promised a top-five payroll. Anthopoulos said he wanted a playoff starter. What Atlanta got was a 20-year-old reliever and hope.
I already wrote about the Strider injury. That piece was about the damage. This one is about who's responsible.
The money was there. The arms were there. The warning was there.
Tell me who made this call.
Dex Ponce
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