The Atlanta Braves DO have some interesting position battles that need to be decided by Opening Day

Bench Bat Lindsay Crosby (Locked On MLB Prospects, Braves Today) is back to pinch-hit for Jake and breaks down the Braves 26-man roster position battles that need to get decided between now and Opening Day. Who wins the 5th starter’s spot, Bryce Elder, Reynaldo López, or the field? how do the Braves configure their bench? How do the bullpen roles shake out, and is it a problem that you might not have any optionable relievers in the majors to start 2024? Lindsay looks at the possibilities.

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on the eve of the first spring training games what is Atlanta’s opening day roster going to look like let’s talk about it you are locked on Braves your daily Atlanta Braves podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every [Music] day yes welcome on in to lockon Braves part of lockon sports Atlanta where it is your Atlanta sports teams each and every day I am Lindsey Crosby fill winning this week for our host Jake mastriani we’ll see him soon and before we get started today’s episode’s brought to you by our friends at game time download the app create an account use promo code locked on for $20 off your first purchase last minute tickets lowest price guarant gued so this is a little bit of a tough episode for the Atlanta Braves because there’s not a lot of unknowns on the Atlanta Braves roster uh unlike a lot of other a lot of other teams a lot of other organizations we know Atlanta’s starting nine right now and we know four of the five members of the rotation without a doubt barring some sort of injury we know that defensively you are lining up ronal Jor in right field Michael Harris the second in Center Jared kick in left the team has confirmed that the plan is to get him every day at bats even if he struggles a little bit and just let him work through it and so takes care of a lot of stuff and that is going to impact the bench battle as we’ll get to in just a minute uh in the infield you have Matt Olsen at first base who has not missed a game since I believe it was early May of 2021 while he was in o second baseman Aussie alz shortstop Orlando Aria third baseman Austin Riley you know your catchers are Shawn Murphy and Travis darau and for your rotation you know that four of those Max freed Spencer Strider Charlie Morton Chris Sale no particular order on those but what you’re looking at is a battle for the fifth starter you’re looking at a battle for your bench rolls and then trying to figure out the proper configuration of your Bullpen so let’s start with I think probably the most impactful of those your number five starter and this is not like it it feels like it’s a Twan battle right between Bryce Elder and Ronaldo Lopez and I think there’s a a little bit more to it than that but let’s dive into those guys and the Ronaldo Lopez one is really interesting because when Atlanta signed ronal Lopez everybody said hey he’s a really good reliever and Atlanta came out and said no he is going to have an opportunity to start he was a starter earlier in his career ronal Lopez has made 97 starts in the major leagues he’s pitched 515 Innings as a starter uh his ER was 473 he had a 1372 whip during that span his best year was 2018 he made 32 starts covered 188 Innings had an erra of under four at a 391 jumped to 5.3 erra the next year in 33 starts that was the juice ball year of 2019 and then he missed some time with vision problems and then converted over to a reliever and as a reliever we saw better velocity we saw a better individual grades on his pitches which happens when you have better velocity and so the the Assumption was he’s going to be a reliever but if you notice the the day before pitchers and catchers report the majority of the Atlanta beat was down there David O’Brien of the athletic Justin Tuscano of the AJC Mark Bowman of mlb.com and they all in separate ways tweets articles whatever they all put out Stories the same day about Ronaldo Lopez is a legitimate candidate to get starts uh in the rotation this year and that tells me a couple things the first thing that the concentrated Announcement by the beat at the same time by all the bbwaa certified members tells me one that is a message that the team wanted to get out uh I know sometimes you’ll see they at the winter meetings sometimes you’ll get uh the bwa members will meet with the team in the suite it’s all off the Record there’s no quotes from that but it kind gives an idea of what the team’s thinking is on certain parameters things like that this very much feels like one of those situations Atlanta’s front office in some way whether it was through Alex and thopas directly to them whether it was through some other contact wanted the message to get out that Ronaldo Lopez will have an opportunity to start and I don’t know if that is because they want to push Bryce Elder to be better as the fifth starter we’ll get to him in a second or if they want to fulfill some sort of promise that they gave Lopez when they got him to sign in Atlanta that he would have an opportunity to go back to starting and Jake wrote a great piece soon after that happened explaining why he doesn’t know if Ronaldo Lopez should be uh given chances to start or not or should he stay as a reliever owing to how spring training performances sometimes lie to us remember Jared Schuster and Dylan DOD had like the best eras in spring training last year now they’re one of them stuck in the rotation or changes in velocity or his better performance as a reliever I will clarify here uh ronard Lopez did have Vision issues that he had that got resolved soon before he converted to relief and so before those issues came up he was a better starter than after those began to bother him and it is possible his performance would be better as he starter now I do think there is value to stretching out Ronaldo Lopez and Spring train because if you need him in the rotation it is easier to let him stretch out in Spring use him in a bulk capacity and move him into a shorter roll later than it is to have him start off as a single inning or maybe double inning guy to the bullpen to open the year and then if you need a starter try to stretch him out later it does make sense to get him stretched out early and then also having him stretched out gives you the advantage of if you haven’t overworked the bullpen recently you can use him in a bulk rooll to Maybe not maybe start games and then fill in with the bullpen behind him if you have an off day coming up or use him put him into the game in relief of somebody who gets knocked out early to try to in essence buy yourself a SI starter without having to explicitly carry six starters Bryce Elder is an interesting one here in the battle for the six- starter job simply because I think we we know that he was really good in the first half last year we know that he was really bad in the second half last year I think the question is where is the true Bryce Elder he’s probably not as good as that first half where he threw 106 Innings with an erra of 297 right but the the second half 13 starts 68 and two3 innings he should have gotten one more out erra of 511 he’s not as bad I think as that second half so where is the true Bryce Elder is he an is a four er guy is he a three and a half is he a four and a half is he a five and I think now that he knows the amount of work required to start in this case he started 3 W games and through when you count postseason and Gwynette through over 180 Innings last year H Brian Snicker talked about this at the winter meetings Elders talked about this at spring training so far he’s done a lot of different physical preparation to be ready for the demands of the Season I’m really curious to see where he ends up on the on the performance early in the year is Bryce Elder closer to that first half guy or that second half guy and I think I really think that that’s going to be the ultimate decider in who is that fifth starter if he shows in Spring he’s closer to that first half guy he’s he has a good chance of winning the job and then you do have other options obviously you’ve got guys like Alan winens who has back spasms has not thr a bullpen yet you’ve got Darius Vines you’ve got prospects AJ Smith Scher and huren walri I don’t necessarily think either one of those guys should be considered favorites to break camp with with the job and for different reasons right Smith Scher is in a scenario where if you look what he did last year he pitched a total of 87 in a third Innings between High a double A triaa and the majors last year plus another I think four in the postseason and so that’s not I I alluded to this in yesterday and segment three when we’re talking about rookie of the year I don’t think he’s going to be able to handle the workload to be and every like to be a a starting member of the rotation all season and so if you think of AJ Smith Sher as we have limited bullets when do you fire those bullets do you start him off in the rotation and run the possibility of him not being available later in the year or do you start him off in Gwynette maybe give him shorter outings and plan for a total Innings exposure for AJ Smith Scher of something like 100 Innings and to decide where you want those in the minors versus the majors hon waldrip I love hon waldrip the spoiler alert bray.com we made him our number one Prospect over AJ Smith Sher because of the skill of the splitter because of the Polish on the fast ball and the potential of the slider and the curveball to get better but I don’t know if a guy who has never pitched in the major leagues and was drafted last year is going to be able to seize a job in spring training and maintain that all year I still think this is Bryce Elder versus Ronaldo Lopez and I don’t know if you can go wrong with either one the question is going to be which way do they go and what is a better option here in just a minute we’re g to talk about the bench we have Clarity from some comments on from alexandropoulos as well as some interesting movement defensively for some other members of Atlanta’s roster we’ll talk about that next right here on locked on MLB prospects but first today’s episode’s brought to you by our friends at game time like find tickets to sporting events Major League games Minor League games or or concerts theater shows whatever it shouldn’t be stressful right and what I love about game time is they take all of those stress and anxiety inducing things out of like just out 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guaranteed lindsy Crosby filling in for Jake mastriani I’m your bench bat for the week here on lock on Braves we’re talking about the opening day roster and who could potentially make the roster out of spring training looking at the bench there’s uh a couple decisions that feel very obvious and easy to me right 110% lock Travis darno is on this roster right Luis gor you signed Luis gor this off season specifically he understands he is walking into a situation where there’s not a lot of play time available for him there’s not a lot of bats available for him he is on the bench in case you need something that is to me as locky of a lock as you can possibly get right outside of that there’s questions about the last two spots and one of them is going to be an Fielder and we got a little bit of clarity on this from Alex anthopoulos when he talked about how tough it was to find members of the bench he discussed that there’s not a lot of playing time to go around and so because of that they’ve had instances and he didn’t name any names because he never does but they’ve had instances where they talked to players and were trying to get them to to gauge their interest in coming to Atlanta and they didn’t really want to come because yes you love winning you love being part of an organization but some of these guys especially guys who were right there in that 30 29 30 31 32 range a lot of them are looking for an opportunity to show what they can do so that they can get picked up by another organization and have another opportunity to be a starter and unless there’s an injury in Atlanta you’re not going to get that and alexas admitted this right he talked about how hard hard it was to find members of the bench this offseason because of how hard because of how little play time there was to go around and he did acknowledge that because we’re going to use everybody every day right Garett K’s gonna play every day because of that it’s gonna impact your decisions on the bench a little bit and one of the things that he specifically said is speed will play a factor in your decisions for the B and for me with speed being anything he specifically mentioned that is a big screaming flashing light of forest wall versus Eli white as your backup outfielder and Eli white is a candidate I like but I think Forest Wall’s the favorite and there’s a couple reasons for that one Forest wall was called up last July he spent Major League time with this team down the stretch last year and that Clubhouse fit does matter right like is important we know that Alex values how a guy fits into the clubhouse Forest wall has 266 career stolen bases in the miners and you’ll remember he was five for six last year but the first time he got into the game if I have this right was against the Brewers and he stole two bases in two pitches in either the ninth or the 10th as the brers were trying to Rally they didn’t win the game but he got over to Third Base in a hurry to give Atlanta an opportunity to tie the game up up and you combine that with his defensive ability in the Outfield and I think he that the familiarity everything he has to be the favorite but don’t count Eli white out of this he’s had some injuries in the past he was talking to I think it was Justin Tuscano of the AJC on Wednesday talking about he’s healthy he feels good and he’s not as accomplished a base dealer in the miners as wall he’s 73 of 97 again wall is 261 of 337 but Eli White’s Sprint speed his sheer how fast can he run he’s actually faster than Forest wall Forest wall put up a 28.2 feet per second last year Eli white put up a 30.0 which I believe is the MLB classification to have a bolt or maybe it’s 31 point is Eli white is faster from a sheer speed on the gun perspective than Forest wall he can also play defense really well and so it feels like one of those two guys is going to be your backup outfielder because you don’t have to give them every day at bats you’re not counting on them to carry the load offensively if somebody gets hurt they are there for defense they are there to rotate in if you need somebody to finish a game you need a pinch hitter a pinch Runner things like that and then JP Martinez who you went out and got from the Rangers Jordan Lupo who you signed as a minor league free agent I think he was a major league free agent last year minor league free AG agent this year it makes sense those two guys are your primary everyday Replacements if somebody gets hurt if Michael Harris misses time God forbid Ronald K Jr misses time if Kellick misses time one of those two guys gets called up to play every day in the Outfield in the absence of one of those guys and so the loser of the forest wall Eli white battle JP Martinez and Jordan Lupo those are your three starters in Gwynette on an everyday basis down there the big question for me and I I’ve written about this a little bit at braves.com is what you do for shortstop do you have David Fletcher up every day because reminder David Fletcher is owed a combined $4 a half million over the next couple years 24 and 25 combined I think is 12 and a half million and he has a $1.5 million buyout for 2026 and David Fletcher’s not gonna play at the major league level barring an injury you’re not going to put David Fletcher into the game and so I really wonder if do you leave David Fletcher in the miners and let him play every day in the hopes that he absolutely just Raks and somebody desperate for a short stop takes the contract do you do that knowing that Luis goret could fill in for three Innings if God forbid something happened to Orlando Aria right Luis G could step in for three games and then you use that fourth bench spot on a guy like a Luke Williams or somebody else that could give you some more versatility than a guy like a David Fletcher you do have other shortstop options Andrew Vasquez Lorie Garcia uh I don’t necessarily know if either one of those guys makes the roster over Fletcher that fourth spot is really interesting and what I do think is I think Atlanta doesn’t necessarily roll with somebody like a Luke Williams who’s really only corner infielder with maybe an occasional Outfield think because they feel good about Marcelo Zuna playing first base to finish a game if they have to you have multiple you’ve seen him he did it in uh in practices last year he played first base for the Squad games they used him in defensive drills down in Northport this week working behind Matt Olsson at first base and so if you were to lose Matt Olson in the seventh inning or something Austin rley can cover first he did that in 22 Luis Kor could cover first and you probably could throw Marcel Ozuna out there for an inning or two so what do you do with that fourth spot if you don’t need that corner infield guy like Luke Williams to play first and third because you have guor and the ability to stick Ozuna there for a couple Innings and then make a call up for somebody else for the next day really interesting thing here I’m going to be watching what happens with this infield in spring training which which which depth players get an extra run so we can figure out who’s going to be the bench and who’s going to be inette in just a minute let’s talk about the back end of the bullpen we know a lot of these roles there a little bit unsettled we’ll do that next right here unlock that will be unlocked on Braves but first today’s episode’s brought to by our friends at FanDuel it is NBA season right now so get buckets with your first bet on FanDuel America’s number one sports book right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet it’s 150 bucks if your bet wins you can bet all your favorite NBA players and teams they’ve got quick bets life same game parlays exclusive props and more and then take your 150 bucks in bonus bets and go throw it on all of the different Braves who have amazing odds at MVP at Sai Young manager of the Year all leading the league and homers aun is on the board for that individual props things like that so so visit fanduel.com lockon to shoot your shot with FanDuel an official Sportsbook partner of the NBA and the official Sportsbook of the locked on podcast Network final segment of locked on Braves again lindsy Crosby your bench back filling in for Jake mastriani this week and similar situation in the bullpen as to the lineup right most of these guys and their roles and the question is what depth pieces make the team and some of that depends on the other jobs right if Renardo Lopez is the fifth starter with Bryce Elder in guette who he was the opening they started there last year that does impact that gives you a spot now in the bullpen to add somebody else because the scenario you’re in now in the bullpen this is really interesting Atlanta doesn’t project as of now assuming Lopez is in the bullpen Atlanta doesn’t project to have anybody with a minor league option available the eight guys that you have back there are your eight guys and you can’t send any of them to Triple A unless they get hurt and go on the injured list and we saw the issues with faking injury list placements and what that did to the Mets so you’re not going to do that or you’re willing to try to pass somebody through waivers right so right now the roles that we know risela glacius is your closer we know that your setup men AJ Mentor is your Lefty setup guy and I’m assuming if Ronaldo Lopez is in the bullpen and working as a single inning reliever that he’s your righty setup man if he is either not working in a single inning role or he’s not in the bullpen Pierce Johnson’s probably your righty setup guy and I say that because Brian snit didn’t really want to use Joe Jimenez in high leverage opportunities last year there were other players that he would go to before he went to Joe Jimenez Kirby Yates had I think four times the number of save opportunities than Joe Jimenez got and it was something where you gave up a legitimate asset to get Joe Jimenez you gave up Justin Henry Malloy who is now solidly an outfielder but has some of the best plate discipline walk rates in the miners and as a continer to make the opening day roster in Detroit you resign do Jimenez but you won’t use him in high leverage spots and so because of that I’m hesitant to say yes he’s going to be a setup guy if Lopez is not in the bullpen Pierce Johnson feels like he’s gonna be that guy right behind that you’ve got some lefties you’ve got Tyler maik you’ve got Aaron bummer again I’m assuming you have Joe Jimenez to work behind that it’s really interesting to me to figure out who who is your backup closer if you’ve used your core guys again eaus M Johnson maybe Lopez that’s your core for you always got to have a core for and if that’s your core for it feels like your backup closer when he’s ready is Tyler Mantic we’ve seen Lefty closers work for Atlanta before Will Smith obviously did that speaking of uh obviously the trick to winning the World Series is to go get Will Smith he’s been on the last three World Series Champions on three separate teams he’s now a member of the Kansas City Royals so I don’t think they’re going to do it but I wonder if the FanDuel odds changed when they signed him and then Aaron bummer another Lefty in your Bullpen he’s on a long-term deal baring some sort of injury he’s going to be in your Bullpen as well that last role for now I’m assuming it’s Jackson Stevens and that’s something where they’ve shown the propensity to use him in a bulk kind of role uh obviously he’s not been bad at it some of the other guys pin Murphy’s not going to be ready to go Ray cerr is an option here but you always want to have that guy who can be a bolt guy and again he doesn’t have any options Jackson Stevens feels like he’s gonna be that guy to me where he’s at the back of the bullet pin he can take the ball for three Innings if you needs if somebody gets blown out knocked out of the game early he can come in and give you some length and then again this is where I think stretching out Ronaldo Lopez in spring training even if you don’t use him as a starter this is where that is useful because he gives you a second guy in the pin who you feel comfortable throwing for multiple Innings if something were to happen the worst thing to do in the world the worst feeling for a manager or a pitching coach I guess is to be in the first day of like three game or four game series your starter gets blown up early and you got to throw your bolt guy and use a lot of your bull pin Fe pieces in game one right only having one bult guy in the bullpen seems to be a little bit like you’re asking for trouble and so if you stretch Lopez out having him the ability to do bulk Innings as well I think is really useful and then in Triple A you’ve got a lot of options uh one of your big one of your big unknowns here was garoa coming back from Tommy John mostly a fastball slider guy does he get that change up he said he’s been working on it this like over the off season does he get to the point where you’re comfortable using him in the bullpen at the major league level or do you want him to continue working as a starter in polishing stuff in Gwynette you’ve got a couple nris Taylor Widner Ken Giles Hayden Harris is an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Southern I’m really excited about we actually had him on lock be prospects back in the fall before the NDS Ben Balden Grant Holmes Jake Walsh couple other options here but it feels like a lot of these guys one they have options you can start them in the miners Doyle has an option Bowen has an option Walsh has an option Hayden Harris isn’t on your 40-man roster yet so he obviously is easy to put down there and so Dylan Lee has multiple options you can start him at the miners desel Hernandez has all three options still you can start him the miners it feels like you’re either going to try to slip one of those guys like a Jackson Stevens through waivers and start him and Gwynette knowing that you can swap one guy out you could swap a Dylan for a or Jackson stevens or somebody else or you’re going to start off with your Bullpen having no optionable guys and hope that not hope but have to deal with the realization of we can’t swap guys out unless there’s an injury so how that Bullpen is constructed is going to be really interesting I think that’s a really interesting thing to watch we’re not not going to know what happens until the end of spring training but watching for that that’s my projection is you’re going going to see Lopez in the bullpen but stretched out you’re going to see mat as your backup closer once they feel like he’s ready to go he hinted he might need a a a rehab stent before he starts the season which does give you more flexibility as well because you can put somebody else in who has an option like a Dao Hernandez and start mat in the miners we’ll see what happens there fantastic week this week one more show coming up tomorrow it’s a mailbag reminder if you have questions you want either me or Jake to answer I’m on Twitter at Crosby baseball this show is on Twitter at onore Braves got YouTube comments down there leave those for us until next time go Braves