The Atlanta Braves have had a very quiet offseason. They recently signed super utility man Jurickson Profar to a three-year, $42 million contract, but haven’t done anything else.
Their biggest need is on the pitching side, particularly with the starting rotation. They lost both Max Fried and Charlie Morton in free agency and haven’t replaced them.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report proposed the idea of Atlanta signing a back-end starter such as left-hander Andrew Heaney.
“It’s possible Alex Anthopoulos still has a key move or two left up his sleeve before the season begins. Plenty of respectable starting pitchers are still available in free agency—Jack Flaherty, Andrew Heaney, Max Scherzer, and Nick Pivetta, to name a few—and Atlanta is always a candidate to swing some trades,” Miller wrote.
Heaney isn’t dominant by any stretch. Last year, he went 5-14 with a 4.28 ERA in 31 starts and one relief appearance. He’s more of a ground-ball pitcher than somebody who generates swings and misses.
However, he could be perfect to plug a hole for the Braves as they try to piece together their rotation. He could fill Morton’s role while they possibly try to find somebody to replace Fried.
Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Strider are a solid top three, but they’re going to need to add some additional reinforcements if they want to bounce back from their Wild Card Series exit last October.
We’ll see if Atlanta makes an offer to Heaney. They need to fill the holes left by the departures of Fried and Morton if they want to remain a force in the National League.
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