Is Fried the only addition needed?
Here are two quick observations concerning the Atlanta Braves on the first weekend of August.
1) They entered this weekend coming off a lessthan-inspiring trade deadline (unless you like Brad Hand. I like Mr. Hand better — the witty high school social studies teacher best known for changing the life of one Jeff Spicoli back in the day).
2) While uninspiring, the lack of a major move by Atlanta is understandable. After all, the Braves just added one of the top five pitchers in baseball — and it cost them nothing.
Max Fried’s dominant return from a May forearm strain injury (a scary diagnosis for a pitcher) in Friday’s 8-0 win against the Chicago Cubs was the most significant addition any contending team had over the past two weeks. If the outing was a portent of things to come, general manager Alex Anthopoulos’ decision to not overspend on a starter will be another stroke of genius.
The Cubs came in with baseball’s hottest offense, and Fried toyed with them, mixing speed and location with utter precision. If the ace is indeed back to form, there are no worries about matching up with any team in October.
The not-so-funny fact about pitching elbows (and they can call it forearm all they want — it’s the elbow that made Dr. Frank Jobe famous), however, is that they become much more fragile once strained.
In fact, a recent study by the Center for Shoulder, Elbow and Sports Medicine at Columbia University found that, over a five-year period, nearly 20% of Major League Baseball players underwent Tommy John surgery within one year of sustaining a forearm strain.
OK, that means 80% don’t, right? Still, it’s a gamble to assume Fried will fall into the majority. At the least, the Braves will have to limit his innings to ensure he’s as strong as possible in the postseason.
That’s not a bad plan for the rest of the starting staff as well. Remember last October?
Fried, Spencer Strider and Charlie Morton were taken apart by the Philadelphia Phillies in their National League Division Series, allowing
12 runs in 7 2/3 innings. The Phillies were hot, but Atlanta’s starters — outside of the currently injured Kyle Wright — looked tired after each started at least 30 games during the regular season.
Speaking of Wright, his potential return in September would be pure icing on the cake, even if he just provided bullpen depth (and maybe a replacement for Bryce Elder).
Either way, Atlanta’s sixth straight NL East Division title is all but locked up, so skipping a turn here and there won’t hurt a thing, and it might help develop some of the younger guys. The postseason has to be the only focus right now — and the competition only improved at the deadline.
While the New York Mets waved the white flag (you hate to see it, right?), the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks and even the Miami Marlins made substantial additions, as did the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays and
Baltimore Orioles in the American League.
Thankfully, Detroit Tigers ace Eduardo Rodriguez nixed a trade to the Dodgers, who had already added relievers Ryan Yarbrough and Joe Kelly, starting infielder Ahmed Rosario and fan favorite Kike Hernandez. L.A. gets Clayton Kershaw back soon to go with Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and crew.
The Phillies made the best pitching addition in the NL with starter Michael Lorenzen, while the D’backs and Marlins added closers Paul Sewald and David Robertson, respectively.
Texas added a pair of former aces in Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery, Houston picked up Justin Verlander, Tampa Bay got starter Aaron Civale and Baltimore added Jack Flaherty. Any of those guys would have looked nice in Atlanta colors.
Hand will be a nice addition to the left side of the Atlanta bullpen, infielder Nicky Lopez is great insurance, especially defensively, and recent addition Yonny Chirinos will hopefully continue to eat innings effectively.
It is what it is, as they say, and a healthy Braves team is still the game’s best. Let’s hope the gamble pays off.