Latest Braves injury could leave them regretting trade deadline moves

When it comes to the actual acquisitions, the Braves may have won the trade deadline.

Tyler Mahle has been the best starting pitcher that was moved. There’s not a close second, as he’s posted a 1.99 ERA over nine starts and was acquired for a journeyman reliever. All the Braves had to do was pick up the remaining $2 million left on his contract.

Brent Suter has also been a really quality addition. He’s not someone the Braves are going to throw out there in high-leverage situations often, but he’s done a terrific job eating the middle innings when the starters haven’t been able to go deep into games, boasting a 1.92 ERA over 24.2 innings. His ability to go multiple innings out of the bullpen is also something that could prove beneficial when the Braves hopefully begin a deep postseason run next week.

However, there has always been the question of whether the Braves did enough. Their offense has struggled mightily over the last four months, yet the only bat they acquired was Lane Thomas, who is currently on the IL and questionable for the postseason. They could have used more, but the real concerns surround the rotation. It’s been a paper-thin group all year, and the healthy options are dropping like flies.

Bryce Elder went to the IL earlier this month with a knee injury. He’s not going to be available for the first couple of rounds of the postseason, and now Martin Perez is on the IL as well with back inflammation, keeping him out for at least the next couple of weeks.

That leaves the Braves with three — yes, three — healthy starting pitchers who have any experience at the major-league level: Chris Sale, Tyler Mahle, and Grant Holmes.

Sale and Mahle were always going to be the two horses the Braves relied on, but having that little depth going into a postseason that’s going to require four series wins if they want to reach the top of the mountain isn’t just less than ideal; it almost feels like a hill that could be too difficult to climb.

This is the exact scenario fans have been clamoring about for years. Injuries and inconsistency have plagued the Braves’ rotation for a long time, yet Alex Anthopoulos has essentially refused to bring in any new blood. It’s a situation everybody could have seen coming from a mile away; unfortunately, the one whose opinion matters never saw it that way.

Now Walt Weiss is tasked with the near-impossible job of navigating a gauntlet of the best teams in baseball with just three starting pitchers. If he can somehow piece this thing together, it will go down as one of the best managerial jobs in MLB history — a tough ask for a guy in his first year on the job.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)