Braves strike out on adding playoff-caliber starter, unlike NL rivals

And then there are the Braves.

While most of their National League rivals traded for starting pitchers who will play major roles in the postseason, the Braves added one who will only help them get there. Counting on right-hander Tyler Mahle as the No. 2 starter in October is a shaky proposition.

From that standpoint, it was a disappointing trade deadline for the Braves. They are in the same predicament now as before 6 p.m. Monday. They have one great starting pitcher, Chris Sale, and a bunch of question marks behind him.

Meanwhile the Dodgers, Cubs (Kevin Gausman) and Padres (Robbie Ray, Casey Mize) traded for starters who will make a significant difference in the struggle for NL supremacy in October.

“We’ve never reacted to what teams do around us,” Braves president Alex Anthopoulos said. “We have to do what’s right for us and we’ve always operated that way. We are aware of what everyone is doing, we respect what everyone is doing.

“Don’t think in any sports job you can say, ‘This team did ‘x’, so we better go do ‘x.’ There are so many examples that stuff like that doesn’t work. You have to worry about yourself.”

The Braves have plenty to fret about with their pitching staff.

Reynaldo López (hamstring) recently joined Spencer Schwellenbach (elbow) and Spencer Strider (elbow) on the injured list. Schwellenbach and Strider would be better October options than Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder and Martin Pérez, but the Braves can’t count on them being healthy and effective this year.

Anthopoulos said he tried to fill the pitching gap with quality starters, but he ultimately decided the asking price was too high.

“Not to say those are easy decisions,” Anthopoulos said. “Obviously, you’d like to get deals done. You find a way. But there are certain asks (that) you say yes to and those are the deals that you do, and certain ones you say no to … You’re always trying to manage the short term and the long term.”

The Dodgers acquired Skubal without sending out any active players from their MLB roster. They did have to give up two top 100 prospects, outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-hander River Ryan. That’s a lot of good, young talent to part with for a player who will be a free agent after this season.

It’s easy to see why Anthopoulos wouldn’t do a deal like that even if his organization’s prospect talent rivaled L.A.’s (it doesn’t). But the Braves also didn’t acquire any of the best of the rest pitchers to change clubs. Gausman, Ray, Mize, Dustin May (Brewers) and Freddy Peralta (Rays) cost their new teams relatively little in young talent.

The Braves have created some breathing room with a 12-5 record since the All-Star break. After the weekend, the Braves held an eight-game lead over the Phillies in the NL East.

“We had a rough June, no doubt about that, but the way we’ve been playing out of the break is great and we feel like the guys we added made the club stronger,” Anthopoulos said.

The Braves will cross their fingers and hope that Sale, 37, is feeling good for the rest of the year. There’s a risk that Mahle will end up on the IL, too.

Mahle hasn’t topped 100 innings pitched since 2022 because of Tommy John elbow surgery and shoulder issues. He’s complied compiled a 5.17 ERA in 94 2/3 innings this season. Mahle spent nearly a month on the IL this year with a hamstring injury and has a 3.79 ERA in seven starts since then over 38 innings.

Something would have to go terribly wrong for the Braves to fail to make the playoffs (the FanGraphs projection put their chances at 99.3%). Once they get to October, they may have to depend on their good bullpen to do a lot of heavy lifting. That plan is complicated by Robert Suárez’s elbow injury (Anthopoulos said Suárez reports he’s feeling great, but he told him not to rush back from the IL).

“We’ve seen teams win so many ways,” Anthopoulos said. “We’ve seen them win with really deep bullpens. We’ve seen them win with good rotations. There’s not one formula.”

That’s true. It’s also the only thing Anthopoulos could say after failing to add a playoff-caliber starter before the deadline. Meanwhile the Dodgers, Cubs and Padres are talking about the good starting pitchers they added for October.

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