Monday, October 12

ATLANTA -- It’s been just five years since the Braves won the World Series. But it’s also been five years since the team advanced past the National League Division Series. 

With the Braves having just two more years of control of Ronald Acuña Jr., is time running out on what seemingly had the makings to be one of the best stretches in franchise history? 

Here are five questions surrounding the Braves this offseason:

1. Do the Braves need to add two proven starters this offseason? 

Chris Sale, Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes. These would be your top three starters if the 2027 season started tomorrow. JR Ritchie, AJ Smith-Shawver and Owen Murphy would be other potential starters.

So, too, would be Didier Fuentes. But what do you do with the 21-year-old hurler who just totaled 80 1/3 innings (playoffs included) in his splendid season as a reliever? Do you put him in the rotation knowing you may not want him to throw much more than 130 innings in 2027? Fuentes seems to best fit as a starter in the future. So, it seems best to begin building his workload as early possible.

How about Tyler Mahle? There will be mutual interest in a reunion. But there will also be many teams wanting to benefit from the increased splitter and decreased cutter mix that brought the right-hander great success down the stretch. 

Even if you project Fuentes to make 20-plus starts and expect either Smith-Shawver or Ritchie to take a step forward next year, there’s seemingly a need to add two starting pitchers this winter. 

You can hope that either Spencer Strider or Spencer Schwellenbach might help in some way, possibly out of the bullpen. But given their respective right elbow injuries, you can’t count on them being dependable rotation pieces. 

2. What should the Braves do with Jurickson Profar? 

Profar is owed $5 million in the final year of a three-year deal that has already been blemished by two performance-enhancing drug suspensions. The 162-game suspension levied this past March left the Braves without a left fielder/designated hitter who was going to provide a switch-hitting presence in the middle of the order.  

Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said he will have internal discussions about Profar’s future with the club. The conversations he has with the teammates who were affected by his suspensions both of the past two years should be telling.  

Even if there wasn’t a character issue to discuss, what could be expected from Profar offensively after he missed all of this past season? 

Braves fans assuming Profar will be gone are already clamoring for the team to pursue Randy Arozarena. 

3. What should be expected from Ronald Acuña Jr. in future seasons? 

Acuña has the potential to still be one of the game’s top players. We saw this as he hit seven homers and produced a .997 OPS over his final 26 regular-season games. The playoffs once again proved to be a bad experience for the 2023 NL MVP.  

Did Acuña face elite pitching in the playoffs? Yep. But he was also bothered by right knee discomfort. There aren’t too many professional athletes attempting to play with two reconstructed anterior cruciate ligaments, let alone trying to do so at an elite level.

Acuña dealt with two left hamstring strains and the postseason knee discomfort. As he continues to distance himself from the two ACL tears, there’s more reason to question whether he can stay healthy for long enough stretches to remain one of the game’s elite players.  

If Acuña can get past concerns about his legs, there’s at least a chance he could have two more productive years in Atlanta. But that may require him to spend a lot of time as a designated hitter, a role Drake Baldwin must fill when not behind the plate. 

4. Will the coaching staff return? 

Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner lived up to great expectations during his first season in Atlanta. As for hitting coach Tim Hyers, he had to deal with the inconsistencies of an offense that became frustrating and maddening a year before he arrived. 

The Braves were one of MLB’s top two best offenses through the end of May, but they were one of the five least productive offenses over the four months that followed.   

We’ll put some of this on the injuries suffered by Baldwin and Acuña. But Austin Riley also had to bear some blame as he endured the worst of his third straight ugly season. 

When Anthopoulos spoke to the media on Sunday morning, it didn’t sound like he expects to make any changes.

5. Who are the most likely free agents to return next year? 

Mahle and Mauricio Dubón have both expressed interest in returning. But both should get solid offers from other clubs. A reunion with Raisel Iglesias might also be possible if the price is right.

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