On June 1, the Atlanta Braves were finally able to exhale. They had a day off after putting together one of baseball\u2019s best months and owned a comfortable 9 1\/2-game lead in the National League East. They looked every bit like a team poised to cruise into October.<\/p>\n
Six weeks later, the picture looks dramatically different.<\/p>\n
Coming out of the All-Star break, the club will be desperate to recover from a disastrous June, in which both its offense and pitching took unexpected steps backward.<\/p>\n
Atlanta watched its division lead shrink to just two games, turning what once looked like a runaway race into a fight with not just the Philadelphia Phillies directly behind them but also the Miami Marlins, who sit four games back.<\/p>\n
When the Braves start the second half Friday against the Texas Rangers, they will have little margin for error. But it\u2019s worth remembering where the Braves stood in 2021. They were 44-45 at the All-Star break, hovering with no clear indication whether they would buy or sell.<\/p>\n
A few bold moves later, they were celebrating a World Series championship.<\/p>\n
Here are the biggest storylines for the Braves coming out of the All-Star break:<\/p>\n
Will they add to the starting rotation?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s starting to sound like a broken record at this point, but the disappointing performance from the Braves\u2019 starting pitchers other than Chris Sale over the past six weeks is alarming.<\/p>\n
Sonny Gray seems like an ideal addition for the Braves. The Nashville native is a playoff-tested veteran in the middle of an elite season with the Boston Red Sox. With a 2.54 ERA, he would complement Sale to form a potent postseason duo \u2014 offering low-risk, affordable depth for a deep October push.<\/p>\n
But another left-hander might fit the rotation better.<\/p>\n
One option is Foster Griffin, who is enjoying a breakout season for the Washington Nationals, going 10-2 with a 2.77 ERA. As a pending free agent, he is a likely trade candidate if the Nationals decide to sell.<\/p>\n
San Francisco Giants starter Robbie Ray \u2014 with his 3.38 ERA, swing-and-miss stuff and postseason experience \u2014 is another appealing rental option.<\/p>\n
If Braves executive Alex Anthopoulos prefers a controllable arm, Reid Detmers stands out. Back in the Los Angeles Angels rotation after he spent last season as a reliever, Detmers has struck out 123 batters in 108 2\/3 innings and remains under club control through 2028.<\/p>\n
The shortstop puzzle<\/p>\n
Ha-Seong Kim, the Braves\u2019 $20 million shortstop, has managed just five hits in 73 at-bats this season. He has been rehabbing his injured middle finger for a second time, though he is getting closer to returning after beginning a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League this week.<\/p>\n
While Kim has been sidelined, prospect Jim Jarvis has made the most of the opportunity. The 25-year-old is 8-for-25 with a home run since his call-up two weeks ago, already surpassing Kim\u2019s offensive production. If Jarvis keeps swinging a hot bat, the Braves may have to make a much tougher decision than they anticipated.<\/p>\n
But even Jarvis\u2019 strong start may not be enough to keep him at shortstop. With Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. beginning a rehab assignment of his own, the Braves are expected to shift utilityman Mauricio Dub\u00f3n back to shortstop.<\/p>\n
That would leave Jarvis fighting not only for playing time but also for a roster spot as players return from the IL.<\/p>\n
Can Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. stay healthy?<\/p>\n
The Braves have barely managed to survive without Acu\u00f1a. Since the outfielder strained his hamstring on June 9, Atlanta has gone just 10-18 and the offense has sputtered through one of its worst stretches of the season.<\/p>\n
The Braves have played at a .599 clip (521-349) with Acu\u00f1a in the lineup during his career. Without him, they\u2019re just about a .500 team.<\/p>\n
Acu\u00f1a began a rehab assignment Monday, putting him on track to return shortly after the All-Star break. His return should provide an immediate boost, but the bigger challenge begins once he\u2019s back. If the Braves are going to make another deep postseason run, they need to keep Acu\u00f1a in the lineup.<\/p>\n
For a team that has often watched injuries derail seasons, keeping the biggest star healthy may be just as important as any move before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On June 1, the Atlanta Braves were finally able to exhale. They had a day off after putting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":764530,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[2111,363,99],"class_list":["post-764529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=764529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/764530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=764529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=764529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=764529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}