Latest report reveals Alex Anthopoulos’ stubbornness in pursuit of starting pitching

The Braves’ rotation is the talk of North Port, Florida, as we await further updates on the injuries to Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep, who are likely to miss a large chunk of the season. That has sparked rampant conversations surrounding Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos and his seemingly continued reluctance to add a starting pitcher despite calling it the team’s top priority since the end of last season.

Starting pitching is expensive, and acquiring a true game-changing arm via trade avenues is even more complicated, especially with one of the weaker farm systems in baseball. However, what has frustrated a large portion of Braves Country the most is the fact that plenty of money has been spent this offseason, and not a dime of it has gone toward the rotation.

Even after the injury news on Spencer Schwellenbach, a handful of veteran free-agent starters began to come off the board. The Braves were linked to a few of them — namely Chris Bassitt and Lucas Giolito. However, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently refuted those reports, calling them “overstated.”

“There have been reports linking the Braves to free-agent starter Lucas Giolito, but any connection between the parties has been overstated, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned,” Burns wrote. “The Braves haven’t been involved in Giolito’s market.

“The Braves also didn’t seriously pursue veteran Chris Bassitt, whom many speculated was a logical fit and would’ve been welcomed in the clubhouse. The Orioles signed Bassitt to a one-year, $18.5 million deal last week.”

Burns acknowledged the possibility of the Braves still adding a starter following their recent run of injuries but also stated the team has a lot of confidence in its in-house options.

There are a couple of intriguing young arms on the farm that could come up rather quickly and make an impact. JR Ritchie enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2025, working his way up to AAA Gwinnett and establishing himself as a top-100 prospect. There’s a chance he arrives and has a similar impact to what we’ve seen recently from Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider when they made their respective MLB debuts.

Didier Fuentes is another young arm who could make a significant impact, but betting on the volatility of prospects is a dangerous game that can turn into a horrendous nightmare just as easily as it can become a success story.

The Braves should also be very concerned with what they have in their major-league rotation. Chris Sale has a substantial injury history. Spencer Strider looked like a shell of himself last year after returning from InternalBrace surgery. And both Reynaldo López and Grant Holmes are coming off season-ending injuries, with López making just one start in 2025 before undergoing shoulder surgery, which is always a tricky injury to bounce back from.

Over the last several offseasons, Alex Anthopoulos seems to have a stubborn all-in-or-bust approach to the rotation. He has consistently discussed how the Braves have been, and still are, looking for a “playoff-caliber” starter. That approach has led to zero additions in two straight offseasons while the rotation has dwindled in front of our very eyes with injury after injury.

At this point, depth and simply getting to the playoffs are just as important as having a guy who’s capable of taking the rock in October. That has been a serious concern since the end of last season. These injury concerns didn’t just come out of left field, and now the Braves are already behind the eight ball — five weeks before they take the field for Opening Day.