So far this off-season, the Atlanta Braves have been very busy. Granted, a lot of the moves they’ve made have been akin to hornets buzzing around their nest – a lot of noise with not a lot of accomplishment. However, last week, they made a trade that could have an impact on the NL East and the Phillies’ goals of overtaking them for division supremacy.
On the latest edition of Hittin’ Season, we discussed Atlanta’s acquisition of left-handed starting pitcher and former All-Star Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox for vaunted young infield prospect Vaughn Grissom.
It’s incredible that Sale did not win a Cy Young Award in the American League while with Boston. From 2012-18, he made the All Star team each season and finished 6th, 5th, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 2nd and 4th in the voting. He led the league in strikeouts twice (including a 308 strikeout season in ‘17), with a 2.91 ERA in 207 starts. He was elite.
However, injuries have torpedoed his career. Since 2019, he has suffered from elbow inflammation, received a Tommy John surgery, and dealt with a rib fracture, a broken finger and shoulder inflammation. Last year he made 20 starts with a 4.30 ERA in 102.2 innings. He still strikes guys out, but is not the dominant force he used to be. Nevertheless, Atlanta will slot him into the No. 3 spot in their starting rotation, giving them a top-five that is now probably better than the Phillies’.
Spencer Strider is the best starting pitcher in the National League. Zack Wheeler is great, but he’s a notch below. During the regular season, Max Fried is the better No. 2 starter over Aaron Nola. However, in the postseason, the Phillies’ top two starters have proven to be better than the Braves’ top guys. Sale and Ranger Suarez are probably a wash, as Suarez also has difficulty staying healthy and is inconsistent, but at times dominant. Charlie Morton is a significant advantage over Taijuan Walker, however, Morton will be 40 years old this year, so it’s fair to wonder how much longer he can remain effective. Bryce Elder and Cristopher Sanchez are equals as No. 5 starters for now.
What do you think?
On the latest episode of the podcast, we discussed the pros and cons of both starting rotations, talked at length about the Phillies Yearbook video, whether it’s more important for the Phillies to add another outfielder or bullpen replacement for Craig Kimbrel, and speculated on what the Phils’ City Connect jerseys could look like next year.
