DALLAS – As the Braves seek fits on the free-agent market or in trades to fill their needs this winter, it would be wise to remain aware of their internal options in the starting rotation and bullpen. There are two in particular to note as the offseason moves forward.
Grant Holmes and Daysbel Hernández. The Braves are excited about both, even if they will still try to add to the rotation and bullpen.
Braves president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos was asked about adding a starting pitcher given his club might lose Max Fried and Charlie Morton from the 2024 rotation. Anthopoulos said the Braves have discussed this and would like to bring in a pitcher, whether via free agency or the trade market.
Then he said this:
“We’d also like to find out about Grant Holmes.”
Holmes spent a decade in the minors before debuting with the Braves over the summer. He performed well, especially when they needed him to start games.
The Braves plan to stretch out Holmes as a starter in spring training.
“Look, we’re going to need more than five starters regardless, so they’re gonna have their opportunities,” Anthopoulos said of his internal options. “But we really like what we saw from Grant Holmes at the end of the year, and he’s out of options. But we liked what we saw out of him out of the rotation. You’d love to have depth because he can do both roles, and you’d love to, in a perfect world, have six, seven, eight guys you feel really good about. We have a lot of young arms, but you never know who’s going to take a step.”
Holmes posted a 3.56 ERA over 68-1/3 innings this past season. He had a 4.01 ERA over seven starts, but that number is a bit misleading. Holmes allowed five runs one time. But he also hurled five innings of one-run baseball in his first career start and allowed two runs over seven innings a few starts later.
In the final game of the season, Holmes received a surprise nod because Chris Sale couldn’t pitch the second game of a doubleheader against the Mets. In a do-or-die game, Holmes tossed four scoreless innings – after pitching the previous day – to help the Braves secure a postseason berth.
“He’s someone that we’d like to find out what he can do, because we do think there’s significant upside there if he can get a starting spot,” Anthopoulos said. “But again, that won’t stop us from either trading for or signing any starter.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker said what Holmes did for the club last season inspires a lot of confidence for 2025.
“What he did for us was really, really good,” Snitker said. “How he took on the responsibility and took advantage of the opportunities that he had. So I’m very happy for him, what he brings, and the versatility that he has. If he’s not starting and he can be a length guy, he has been a bridge guy. We’ve used him in all the different roles last year. His stuff plays and the experience and all, it’s just I’m really – I have a lot of confidence in him.”
Hernández is a hard-throwing righty reliever. He debuted in 2023 and surprised everyone when he made the postseason roster. In 2024, he allowed five earned runs over 18 frames across 16 regular-season appearances before firing 2-1/3 scoreless innings in a postseason game in San Diego.
The Braves won’t have Joe Jiménez (knee surgery) for a significant portion of next season. It’s possible that Jiménez never pitches. As Atlanta looks to fill the void, Hernández is an under-the-radar internal option that could help.
“I’m not saying Daysbel Hernández, for example, is gonna replace Joe Jiménez – absolutely not,” Anthopoulos said. “However, Daysbel Hernández, Snit put him in some big-time spots, and he really became a trusted reliever for him. And does that mean he’s gonna have that role in 2025? I don’t know. … The moment that jumps out for me (with) Snit, in terms of his trust in (Daysbel): Miami, bases loaded, he brings Daysbel Hernández in. Our season is on the line. We made the postseason last day of the year.”
That spot in Miami might’ve saved the Braves’ season. With the bases loaded and one out in a one-run game, Hernández kept the lead intact. In the biggest spot of his young career, Hernández displayed the velocity and stuff that excites the Braves.
Snitker said Pierce Johnson can slot into Jiménez’s setup role. Johnson, equipped with a terrific curveball, has great stuff and has shown he can succeed in high-leverage spots.
Then Snitker was asked about Hernández.
“Again, there’s another one that the stuff plays,” Snitker said of Hernández.
Huascar Ynoa to Minnesota
Huascar Ynoa, the right-hander who had been with the Braves organization since 2017, signed a minor-league deal with the Twins that includes an invitation to major-league spring training, according to a person familiar with the situation. The Braves had non-tendered Ynoa, which made him a free agent.
On the Nov. 22 deadline for clubs to tender a contract to players who are under team control, the Braves approached Ynoa’s representation about signing him to a minor-league deal instead of tendering him a contract that would’ve kept him on the 40-man roster. That didn’t work out, and Ynoa instead became a free agent when the Braves non-tendered him.
It ended a tenure with Atlanta that included so much promise. In 2021, he began the season as one of the Braves’ best starters before fracturing his hand punching a dugout bench. In 2022, Ynoa underwent Tommy John surgery. Ynoa missed the entirety of the 2023 season. In 2024, a right elbow stress reaction forced him to the injured list in the middle of a season in which he posted a 6.37 ERA over 29-2/3 innings in the minors.
Had the Braves tendered a contract to Ynoa, he would’ve remained on their 40-man roster and would’ve continued accruing service time. They decided they didn’t want to use the roster spot that way.
Now, Ynoa will try to revive his career with Minnesota.
Taylor Ward speculation
On Tuesday, an MLB.com reporter posted to X saying that the Angels appeared to be close to trading one of their outfielders. The reporter said Taylor Ward had generated a lot of interest and said he wouldn’t be surprised if Ward were the one dealt.
If Braves fans saw the post, they probably wondered whether Ward could be dealt.
If there’s a potential Ward trade, the Braves aren’t the team connected to the outfielder, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Ward would make sense for the Braves, as he’s only due around $9 million in his second year of arbitration. He’s a talented outfielder capable of giving a lineup a mid-.700s OPS (or better) and good run production.
The Angels have been aggressive in trying to add this offseason, so they might not be motivated to move Ward. It would seemingly go against their offseason to this point.
Leadership in the room
The Braves lost Freddie Freeman, a leader. Then they went without Dansby Swanson, a leader. And now they won’t have Travis d’Arnaud, a leader.
How do the Braves overcome that?
“(Reporters) asked me that when we lost Freddie and Dansby and all that,” Snitker said. “I don’t worry about that. That room is full of leader-type guys, the makeup guys that play. I think those leaders lead by example, and those guys how they come to work every day, how they prepare, the energy with which they play, that’s probably the last thing I worry about is credibility and the so-called leadership in the room.”
Austin Riley and Matt Olson are two primary leaders in the clubhouse. Chris Sale is another one, though a pitcher usually can’t have the same type of impact in that way as a guy who plays every day. Ozzie Albies is a leader. Spencer Strider has grown into that role, too, as he’s a no-excuses person.
No doubt, though, d’Arnaud’s personality is a big loss. It doesn’t mean the Braves will crumble, though.
About the Author
