With their two best starting pitchers facing Tommy John Surgery, the big question for the Atlanta Braves is, 'should they sign another starting pitcher/ace?'
In back-to-back games the Braves lost their two most important starters, Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, to Tommy John surgery which means it will be months before they will have the ability to return.
Doing the best they could to fix that problem, the Braves signed former Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Ervin Santana to a one-year deal.
"In light of what has happened over the past few days with our pitching staff, we felt it was incumbent on us to do everything we could to strengthen our starting pitching," Braves general manager Frank Wren told reporters before a game against Washington.
Santana is (most of a time) a reliable starter. His record did not show that last year due to the team he was pitching for. He was able to earn nine wins, but lost ten games. In 32 starts he gave up an average of three runs per game, so with a high-run scoring ballclub like the Braves, he will have a much better record, but only if he is able to perform like he did on the Royals.
Although the Braves did what they thought was best to get a quick fix, that might not be enough. With Medlen and Beachy out the Braves starting lineup would most likely consist of Julio Teheran, Evin Santana, Mike Minor, Alex Wood and Gavin Floyd. The first three are definite solid starters and fearable pitchers, but the bottom half have some question marks.
If the Braves want to earn a high seed for the post season and lockup home field advantage (where they were able to thrive last season), they need to add a new member to the pitching staff, but that does not mean they necessarily need an 'ace' added to the roster.
The best bet for the Braves would be signing left-handed pitcher Joe Saunders, who would really be big help to the Braves when it came to getting American League hitters out. He's not an 'ace', but the Braves aren't in dire need for one.
In back-to-back games the Braves lost their two most important starters, Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, to Tommy John surgery which means it will be months before they will have the ability to return.
Doing the best they could to fix that problem, the Braves signed former Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Ervin Santana to a one-year deal.
"In light of what has happened over the past few days with our pitching staff, we felt it was incumbent on us to do everything we could to strengthen our starting pitching," Braves general manager Frank Wren told reporters before a game against Washington.
Santana is (most of a time) a reliable starter. His record did not show that last year due to the team he was pitching for. He was able to earn nine wins, but lost ten games. In 32 starts he gave up an average of three runs per game, so with a high-run scoring ballclub like the Braves, he will have a much better record, but only if he is able to perform like he did on the Royals.
Although the Braves did what they thought was best to get a quick fix, that might not be enough. With Medlen and Beachy out the Braves starting lineup would most likely consist of Julio Teheran, Evin Santana, Mike Minor, Alex Wood and Gavin Floyd. The first three are definite solid starters and fearable pitchers, but the bottom half have some question marks.
If the Braves want to earn a high seed for the post season and lockup home field advantage (where they were able to thrive last season), they need to add a new member to the pitching staff, but that does not mean they necessarily need an 'ace' added to the roster.
The best bet for the Braves would be signing left-handed pitcher Joe Saunders, who would really be big help to the Braves when it came to getting American League hitters out. He's not an 'ace', but the Braves aren't in dire need for one.