Braves fans may not love Alex Anthopoulos' stance on backfilling Spencer Strider's role

With Spencer Strider out for the season, it will be next man up for the Atlanta Braves. Although Atlanta may eventually trade for a starting pitcher, it is not like a front-line starter of Strider’s caliber is readily available in the middle part of April. It is why Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos isn’t going to panic trade for a guy when he doesn’t have to right this instant. It is very par for the course.

Anthopoulos told ESPN that he expects to use the depth of the farm system, at least initially, before making any wholesale moves to address losing Strider for the season. He has earned the benefit of the doubt for so many reasons before. Last year saw Max Fried pull his hamstring on Opening Day. This afforded Bryce Elder a big opportunity, as he took advantage of it with a spectacular first half.

Here is what Anthopoulos said to ESPN about how he wants to go about replacing Strider this year.

“You can never replace frontline, Cy Young-caliber starters with internal depth. But it’s not like the NBA where one guy can dramatically change the impact, you’re going to have to do it as an entire 40-man group and beyond. I know it’s a cliché, but we really are going to take it day by day. People will get opportunities, no doubt about it. At some point if someone seizes that opportunity and gets a long period to start, that’s fantastic.”

For as long as the Braves continue to play winning baseball, Anthopoulos’ plan of attack should work.

Alex Anthopoulos explains his plan to replace Spencer Strider this season

All things equal, this is the right course of action. As long as Atlanta stays atop the NL East standings, what is the point of prematurely trading for a guy to replace Strider? Atlanta already has other proven starters in its rotation from Fried, to the ageless Charlie Morton, to the veteran Chris Sale. All three can be relied upon to carry their weight while he is out. It is about the other two rotation spots…

Reynaldo Lopez has pitched well since getting his arm stretched out in spring training. He may have only been the fifth starter coming out of camp, but his role is now a more important one. While recalling Elder could make sense, he had a down second half to last year, and was not the least bit good during spring training. Of course, Atlanta has other internal options besides Elder to work with.

Even if Braves Country may not be thrilled with Anthopoulos wanting to stand pat and wait until later to replace Strider directly, when has he been wrong before? Although Marcell Ozuna was a shell of himself in 2021 and 2022, he was incredible from May on last year and is arguably the best designated hitter in the game in 2024. Even that move we all hated ended up working out in the end.

The time may come to trade for a Strider replacement, but we are so many weeks out from that date.

This article was originally published on fansided.com as Braves fans may not love Alex Anthopoulos’ stance on backfilling Spencer Strider’s role .