Breaking: Two early-season moves Braves must make

The Atlanta Braves are poised for another strong regular season, but they must make two early-season moves for World Series contention.

The Atlanta Braves are off to a strong start in the 2024 MLB regular season.

Atlanta leads the National League East at 3-2 after the opening week of play, and the Braves have a +21 run differential through five games.

While the Braves appear to be on track for a lengthy postseason run, there are still certain areas where the team can improve. Here are two early-season changes that the Braves must make.

The Braves must solidify their bullpen

The Braves boast one of the best starting rotations in the National League. Spencer Strider and Max Fried, both Cy Young Award hopefuls, anchor the top of the rotation. Both pitchers are true aces, and they offer opponents a completely different look from one day to the next.

Following Strider and Fried are Charlie Morton and veteran MLB starter Chris Sale, who was acquired during the offseason. Sale hasn’t appeared to have lost his touch in his first start of the season, but he must prove that he can stay healthy.

However, the Braves bullpen could use some help. On paper, it’s a great lineup, with Raisel Iglesias closing things out in the ninth and AJ Minter serving as the left-handed situational workhorse out of the pen. However, following Joe Jiminez, the squad could benefit from adding another excellent right-handed arm.

The Braves should aim for one of Reynaldo Lopez, AJ Smith-Shawver, or even Bryce Elder (who went from 2023 All Star to AAA in eight months) to stand out as the team’s fifth starter, while using one of the other two to add another relief arm. Lopez looked extremely impressive in his first start for the Braves against his previous team, the White Sox, scattering four hits and allowing only one run over six innings.

The Braves need a backup first baseman

Atlanta features one of the best offensive first basemen in the league in Matt Olson, who blasted 54 home runs and was a 2023 MVP candidate. However, if he is forced to miss any time, the Braves’ situation will get more complicated. While losing a hitter of Olson’s talent would be devastating, Atlanta boasts one of the finest 1-9 lineups in baseball (in comparison to the Dodgers’ top-5).

Defensively, things get tricky. While Olson is a capable first baseman, the Braves’ backups are third baseman Austin Riley and designated hitter Marcell Ozuna. Neither are naturals on that side of the field, and Ozuna does not play on the field at all. While the team may get away with it for a game or two, if the worst-case scenario occurs and Olson is forced to miss considerable time, Atlanta will struggle on the right side of the infield.

It’s better to nip a possible problem in the bud now rather than later.

The Braves are fortunate in that their only true needs are for minor players, both out of the bullpen and in the infield. While the team has seen heartbreaking October exits since winning the World Series in 2021, it has only grown stronger. The key question is whether they can plug any minor gaps such that they cannot be exploited this fall.

Atlanta is poised for another successful regular season, but they must focus on October.