Bleacher Report predicts Braves Opening Day lineup

The Braves’ focus so far this offseason has been clear — pitching, pitching, and more pitching. Atlanta has already retained Joe Jimenez, Pierce Johnson, and Charlie Morton. They also brought in Reynaldo Lopez in free agency and acquired Aaron Bummer in a six-player trade with the White Sox. The Braves bullpen is already in a much better place than it was this past season when it was one of the better relief cores in baseball.

Now, the focus has seemingly shifted to the rotation. We know the Braves made a substantial offer to Aaron Nola, who returned to Philadelphia on a seven-year deal. They also were in on Sonny Gray, who ended up signing with the Cardinals for three years, $75 million. More recently, they’ve been deemed a finalist for White Sox ace Dylan Cease by MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. Whether it’s Cease or someone else, it certainly seems like a big name is coming to join the Braves rotation.

Offensively, there’s not much needed in Atlanta. Most of the Braves position players are young stars locked up for the foreseeable future. The one outlying position being left field. The club opted to move on from Kevin Pillar and Eddie Rosario, leaving a void in the outfield. The Braves seem to be open to giving Vaughn Grissom an opportunity, but at the very least, they have to add a bit of insurance.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report just released his first Opening Day lineup predictions, and he has an interesting name filling the Braves void in left field.

Projected Starting Lineup

RF Ronald Acuña Jr.
2B Ozzie Albies
3B Austin Riley
1B Matt Olson
DH Marcell Ozuna
C Sean Murphy
CF Michael Harris II
LF Hunter Renfroe
SS Orlando Arcia
SP Max Fried

I don’t mind the idea of adding Hunter Renfroe to this lineup. He’s coming off a bit of a down year, recording a .713 OPS with 20 homers between two teams, but he combined for 60 home runs in 2021-2022. Renfroe could be considered a slight upgrade over Eddie Rosario, but that might be generous, and shouldn’t cost more than $10 million on a one-year pact.

That’s a palatable deal, but if this is the direction the Braves go, they have to seriously consider giving Grissom an opportunity in left field if he’s not traded this offseason.