​The Atlanta Braves have spent most of June searching for reliable starting depth after right-hander Spencer Strider went down with a right arm injury. Initially, rookie JR Ritchie received the call, but after two starts he was optioned back to the minors and Reynaldo Lopez stepped into the rotation. Lopez, however, may not be a long-term solution, having worked primarily as a reliever for the past two months and only reaching three innings in Friday’s start against the San Francisco Giants, albeit with solid results, allowing just one run.
Another pitcher who saw relief duty Friday, though with a past as a starter, is right-hander Hurston Waldrep. He delivered two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Waldrep is among Atlanta’s brightest young arms, having posted a sub-3.00 ERA over nine starts last season, demonstrating his capability to start again. Yet a right elbow surgery during spring training has led the Braves to ease him back, using him out of the bullpen as he builds back up.
Manager Walt Weiss acknowledged a late-game decision looms after Friday’s outing. “Weiss said they don’t want to decondition Waldrep as a starter. It also feels like Lopez will get another start. So, barring an unexpected decision to move Holmes to the pen or to go to a six-man rotation, I’m guessing Waldrep will go back down to make additional starts,” Mark Bowman of MLB.com reported.
There’s also a possibility that Grant Holmes could shift to the bullpen to free a spot so Weiss doesn’t have to choose strictly between Lopez and Waldrep, though Holmes has been one of the more reliable options in the rotation this season with a 4.17 ERA over 15 starts, making that move seem unlikely. The other option would be returning Lopez to the bullpen in favor of Waldrep, but Lopez has started only once thus far, complicating that route. Ultimately, the Braves may consider a six-man rotation or sending Waldrep back to the minors to continue building starts.
This is a favorable problem to have for a club with such depth, yet the situation will grow more intricate as more pitchers return from the injured list.