Atlanta Braves Facing Early Injury Concerns During Spring Training

The Atlanta Braves aren’t yet a week into Spring Training and are already facing injury concerns.  The projected first two starters in the Braves rotation are both facing injury leaving a lot of questions for the start of the Atlanta season.

The Atlanta Braves’ biggest addition to the rotation this off-season was Cole Hamels who was injured before ever throwing a pitch this spring.  He is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day and seemingly will miss part of the Braves’ first month of the season.

He can still make an impact, however, he was added as an innings eater to provide stability in the rotation.

This news was made worse by the fact that Mike Soroka is facing an early injury as well. The Atlanta rotation now has three spots in the rotation facing questions heading into the season.

Max Fried and Mike Foltynewicz seem to be the only players still definitively in line to be a part of the Braves Opening Day rotation. This isn’t exactly ideal when the Braves biggest weakness is already their rotation.

Felix Hernandez is likely to fill at least one of the rotation spots considering his early success and his track record as a top of the rotation starter. Sean Newcomb should be the second favorite to take a rotation spot considering his work last year in the bullpen and the off-season chatter about him rejoining the rotation.

If Soroka isn’t ready to go on Opening Day as well then there becomes a big talent gap and a lot of questions. Either Kyle Wright or Bryse Wilson would likely take the final spot in the rotation until Hamels or Soroka became healthy.

Atlanta’s problem is a lot of depth in their rotation but not a lot of talent they can count on. They have a rotation full of questionable veterans or young unproven talent. Not an ideal situation for a team that already has taken a step back from 2019.