Brian Snitker said the only thing he really could at the halfway point of what has been a shocking 2024 season so far for the Atlanta Braves.
The veteran manager, when asked about the playoffs, emphatically (as emphatic as he can) stated the team plans to win the National League East. A World Series championship is still the main goal.
I mean, what was he supposed to say? "My injury-plagued, slump-ridden team is right where we want to be?" Or, maybe: "Division titles are overrated. The wild card is the path to take, and we're all in."
While Snitker didn't say that last part, it is likely reality at this point, and considering the issues that have plagued the six-time reigning NL East champions — including devastating season-ending injuries to Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider — things could be a lot worse.
When the 162-game regular season for Atlanta actually hit its midpoint this past weekend — the midseason break for the All-Star Game is still two weeks away — the Braves were 46-35, which was seven games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East, but three games ahead of the San Diego Padres for the NL's top wild-card spot. Six teams were within a game and a half of the St. Louis Cardinals for the third and final wild card.
Not ideal, but wild-card teams have done quite nicely in the MLB postseason, especially lately. Both teams in last year's World Series came out of that round. The Phillies have been a wild-card team the past two years, reaching the World Series in 2022 and the NL Championship Series last year before falling to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In all, six wild-card teams since 2012 have played in the World Series, with three winning it all.
To add to that list, though, things have to turn around in Cobb County soon. The Braves we've seen over the past two months have no shot at a deep run in the postseason. Just examine a few stats from 2023 and so far this season.
As a team, the '23 Braves hit .276 with a .344 on-base percentage and a .501 slugging percentage, which adds up to a whopping .845 on-base plus slugging percentage. The numbers this season are .243, .308, .401 and .710.
Yes, Acuña and his NL MVP numbers from last year are gone, but everyone in the lineup not named Marcell Ozuna has regressed (we can't count Jarred Kelenic, who was traded by the Seattle Mariners in December and not a part of Atlanta's monster offense last season).
The worst batting average among Atlanta regulars last year was Sean Murphy's .251, but he had a .365 on-base percentage and a .478 slugging percentage. That last number would be second behind Ozuna this year, and the batting average third behind Ozuna and Ozzie Albies (who was hitting a robust .254 going into Tuesday).
Read that again.
Austin Riley was hitting .250 entering Tuesday, which is what Michael Harris II was hitting before being sidelined by a hamstring injury since mid-June. Matt Olson, he of the monster 54 home runs and 139 RBIs (and a .993 OPS) last year, was sitting at .242. Orlando Arcia, an MLB All-Star last summer, is flailing away at a .211 clip, with Murphy at .217 and Adam Duvall, Acuña's replacement in right field, hitting (if you call it that) .169.
This is not a small sample size, and it makes you wonder: At what point do we worry about the quality of instruction these guys are getting?
Are Pedro Cerrano and Jobu available for a bat cleansing? What's Kelly Leak up to these days?
Anyway, all of this is to say ... we need more pitching.
Yep, the bats stink, but the bigger issue for a deep playoff run (heck, to even get there) is to stack arms. Hear me out.
If the playoffs started today, a big three of left-handers Max Fried and Chris Sale and right-hander Reynaldo Lopez would be worthy of the World Series.
Problem is, though, that half the season awaits and those three either already have or will soon eclipse last year's innings totals: Fried has 96 innings this year after pitching only 78 a year ago; Sale, at 94 innings, is just nine short of last year; Lopez has already thrown 13 more innings this year than last. Reliable righty Charlie Morton, we hope, is good to go, but hopefully not as a Game 1 or Game 2 starter.
The other starters — Bryce Elder, Spencer Schwellenbach, et al. — should not be in the mix during the postseason, though they will, as of now, have to help get the Braves there.
There are some decent trade candidates, but Atlanta's best trade chips are in the lower minors and have less current value. Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos might have to gut an already weak farm system to make improvements.
The Chicago White Sox will be big sellers and have the top starting pitcher on the market in Garrett Crochet. He's been great, especially lately, has 141 strikeouts in 18 starts and is signed through 2026. However, two things are against him. One, he's coming back from 2022 Tommy John surgery, which limits his innings, and two, the Los Angeles Dodgers are apparently interested.
A more realistic candidate is former Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty. Now with the Detroit Tigers, he has a 3.24 ERA in 15 starts and is striking out eight batters to each one he walks.
The White Sox also have less expensive pitchers Michael Kopech and Erick Fedde available, while the Toronto Blue Jays' Yusei Kikuchi, the Los Angeles Angels' Tyler Anderson and the Colorado Rockies' Cal Quantrill would also be nice pickups.
The other option for Atlanta is to just roll with what it has and hope for the best. But, as Snitker said, that's not the Braves' way.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com.