Roster Odds – Updated 4/7
Latest Transactions
4/7: Opening Day roster is set. Let’s run it back.
4/3: LHP Kyle Muller optioned to AAA Gwinnett; selected the contract RHP Darren O’Day, placed RHP Luke Jackson on the 60-day IL
4/2: IFs Phil Gosselin, Ryan Goins, and Pat Valaika assigned to minor league camp
3/31: LHP Dylan Lee and OF Travis Demeritte optioned to AAA Gwinnett; UT Brock Holt released
3/30: C Chadwick Tromp optioned to AAA Gwinnett; 1B John Nogowski re-assigned to minor league camp
3/28: RHP Jacob Webb optioned to AAA Gwinnett
Bench – Infielders
Position | Player | Opening Day Odds | Roster Status | OFR Prospect Rank | Options |
1B | Matt Olson | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
2B | Ozzie Albies | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
3B | Austin Riley | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | 3 |
SS | Orlando Arcia | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
UT | Luis Guillorme | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | 0 |
UT | David Fletcher | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | n/a |
UT | Luke Williams | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | 1 |
UT | Andrew Velazquez | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | 0 |
SS/2B | Luke Waddell | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | 18 | - |
SS | Nacho Alvarez | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | 7 | - |
UT | Alejo Lopez | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | 1 |
1B/3B | Phillip Evans | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | 1 |
4/2: In determining who would be the second infield back-up behind Orlando Arcia, the Braves have essentially selected “None of the Above” after re-assigning all three remaining in-camp candidates. The Braves may make an acquisition to fill the spot, or go with William Contreras on the bench in a third catcher/back-up outfielder role in the early going. Of course, the Braves could change course at any time and add one of Gosselin, Goins, or Valaika to the roster.
3/31: The Braves announced that “Brock Holt has requested and been granted his release”. This likely means he was informed he was not going to make the club, and rather than accept a minor league assignment the veteran will take a shot at catching on with another major league squad. This move has several ramifications for the bench. First, it makes Alex Dickerson more likely to stick around as a lefty reserve even after the return of Ronald Acuña. It also makes it more likely that one of the Gosselin/Valaika/Goins trio makes the Opening Day roster.
3/26: Pat Valaika played right field on Saturday, a position that he has never played in the major leagues, as the Braves work to figure out the bench.
3/25: Yariel Gonzalez’s longshot bid for a bench job comes to end. His chances went down considerably as the organization brought in veterans Phil Gosselin, Brock Holt, and Pat Valaika to compete for the second back-up infield spot behind Orlando Arcia.
Bench – Outfielder
Position | Player | Opening Day Odds | Roster Status | OFR Prospect Rank | Options |
RF | Ronald Acuña Jr. | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
CF | Michael Harris II | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | 3 |
LF | Jarred Kelenic | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | 1 |
OF | Marcell Ozuna | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
OF | Adam Duvall | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
OF | Forrest Wall | 100% ↑ | 40-man roster | n/a | 3 |
OF | Eli White | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reasigned) | n/a | 1 |
OF | Luis Liberato | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reasigned) | n/a | 3 |
OF | J.P. Martinez | 0% ↓ | 40-man roster (optioned) | n/a | 2 |
UT | Leury Garcia | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | n/a |
3/31: The release of Brock Holt and the optioning of Travis Demeritte pushes the likelihood of Alex Dickerson making the squad to near 100%, barring an outside acquisition.
3/23: Speaking with the Bally broadcast crew on Wednesday, Alex Anthopoulos indicated that they were looking at Acuña being available for outfield duty in early May. Great news for the Braves, but it did finally close the book on the longshot possibility of his starting the season as the DH.
3/23: Waters optioned. Barring an injury outbreak of some sort he was not going to make the team anyway, but a hamstring tweak keeping him out of the line-up the last three games didn’t help his chances.
Bench – Catcher
Position | Player | Opening Day Odds | Roster Status | OFR Prospect Rank | Options |
C | Sean Murphy | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | 3 |
C | Travis d'Arnaud | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
C | Chadwick Tromp | 0% | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | 1 |
C | Drake Baldwin | 0% | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | 8 | - |
C | Sebastián Rivero | 0% | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | 2 |
C | Tyler Tolve | 0% | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | 32 | - |
4/3: Manager Brian Snitker today confirmed that catcher William Contreras has made the team. He will back up at catcher, outfield, and possibly third or first base if necessary.
3/26: In an interesting development, William Contreras will start Sunday’s game in right field. Outfield continues to be an area of concern, especially defensively, in the weeks before Acuña’s return to the field.
3/18: The most locked-in position is catcher, with incumbent Travis d’Arnaud and free agent veteran acquisition Manny Piña. There is a chance the Braves may use the new bench dynamics to keep a third catcher on the roster, with former San Francisco Giant Chadwick Tromp the likely candidate in that scenario as the team looks to give William Contreras more seasoning in AAA.
Starting Rotation
Position | Player | Opening Day Odds | Roster Status | OFR Prospect Rank | Options |
LHP | Max Fried | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | 3 |
RHP | Spencer Strider | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
RHP | Charlie Morton | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
LHP | Chris Sale | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
RHP | Reynaldo Lopez | 100% ↑ | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
RHP | Bryce Elder | 0% ↓ | 40-man roster (optioned) | n/a | 3 |
RHP | Huascar Ynoa | 0% ↓ | 40-man roster (optioned) | n/a | 1 |
RHP | AJ Smith-Shawver | 0% ↓ | 40-man roster (optioned) | 1 | 2 |
RHP | Hurston Waldrep | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | 2 | - |
RHP | Darius Vines | 0% ↓ | 40-man roster (optioned) | 11 | 2 |
LHP | Dylan Dodd | 0% ↓ | 40-man roster (optioned) | 12 | 2 |
RHP | Allan Winans | 0% ↓ | 40-man roster (optioned) | 21 | 2 |
RHP | Taylor Widener | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | 2 |
RHP | Ian Anderson | 0% | 40-man roster (optioned) | n/a | 1 |
4/3: The rotation will be Fried, Morton, Anderson, Ynoa, and Wright (not necessarily in that order) with either Tucker Davidson or Spencer Strider as the sixth starter. Both Davidson and Strider will make the team out of camp, per manager Brian Snitker.
4/3: With Kyle Muller heading back to the minors, the rotation seems settled. The only question seems to be if Tucker Davidson will start the season in the major league roster or be optioned and then brought back up when the sixth starter is needed.
3/23: Alex Anthopoulos named Kyle Wright and Huascar Ynoa as the favorites for the 4th and 5th rotations spots. Muller, Davidson, and Strider were name-dropped as still in the mix.
3/23: In a surprise move, Touki Toussaint was optioned. With the news of 28-man rosters and likely six-man rotations, Toussaint would have seemed to be in line for swingman duties, but the Braves must have seen something in his Monday start that they wanted him to work on.
3/22: With news today that the league will have 28-man rosters in April with no limitations to the number of pitchers we are modifying the percentages accordingly. Good outings from Ynoa and Strider also taken into account.
Bullpen
Position | Player | Opening Day Odds | Roster Status | OFR Prospect Rank | Options |
RHP | Raisel Iglesias | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
LHP | AJ Minter | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
RHP | Joe Jiménez | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
RHP | Pierce Johnson | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | 0 |
LHP | Tyler Matzek | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
LHP | Aaron Bummer | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
LHP | Dylan Lee | 100% | 40-man roster | n/a | 2 |
RHP | Jesse Chavez | 100% ↑ | Non-roster invite | n/a | 0 |
RHP | Jackson Stephens | 0% ↓ | Designated for assignment | n/a | 0 |
RHP | Reynaldo Lopez | 0% ↓ | 40-man roster | n/a | n/a |
RHP | Huascar Ynoa | 0% ↓ | 40-man roster (optioned) | n/a | 1 |
RHP | Ken Giles | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | n/a |
LHP | Ray Kerr | 0% ↓ | 40-man roster (optioned) | n/a | 1 |
RHP | Daysbel Hernandez | 0% ↓ | 40-man roster (optioned) | n/a | 3 |
RHP | Tommy Doyle | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | 1 |
RHP | Allan Winans | 0% ↓ | 40-man roster (optioned) | 21 | 2 |
RHP | Jake Walsh | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | 1 |
RHP | Grant Holmes | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | 0 |
LHP | Ben Bowden | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | 1 |
RHP | Taylor Widener | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | n/a | 2 |
LHP | Hayden Harris | 0% ↓ | Non-roster invite (reassigned) | 38 | - |
RHP | Penn Murfee | 0% | 40-man roster | n/a | 3 |
LHP | Angel Perdomo | 0% | 40-man roster | n/a | 0 |
4/3 (update): Manager Brian Snitker confirmed that both Davidson and Strider have made the team. Either could be used out of the bullpen.
4/3: Darren O’Day now is all but guaranteed a spot as an MRI scan confirms a UCL tear for Luke Jackson. Tyler Thornburg is almost a lock at this point as well. Spencer Strider would seem to be in line for another spot, though its possible Brad Brach, Nick Vincent, Jacob Webb, or even Touki Toussaint could be summoned back from the minor league side.
3/30: With Dylan Lee being optioned, Sean Newcomb’s inclusion in the Opening Day bullpen now seems assured.
3/28: Manager Brian Snitker revealed that RHP Luke Jackson has been dealing with a tight right forearm, but that he has resumed throwing after taking a week off to rest. Jackson has not made his spring debut, and now seems unlikely to begin the season on the active roster. Veteran RHP Tyler Thornburg made his second scoreless appearance of the spring and would seem to be the most likely to at least temporarily assume Jackson’s spit in the bullpen.
3/28: RHP Jacob Webb was optioned this morning. He did not make a spring training appearance, and one would have to wonder if his 40-man roster spot is in jeopardy if the Braves elect to add someone else on, such as Darren O’Day.