The Braves’ rotation overcame several injuries to post very solid numbers for most of the season, though a lack of depth caught up to the team in the playoffs, as Chris Sale and deadline pickup Tyler Mahle were the only pitchers trusted to operate as true starters. With Mahle and Martin Perez now free agents and questions about health and consistency still swirling over several other Atlanta starters, it’s no surprise that the Braves are widely expected to seek out rotation help this winter.
Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution looks at the free agent market to see how many starters are plausible fits for the Braves, and adds a couple of interesting details about two potential targets. Nick Pivetta has drawn interest from the team “in [the] past, but there are currently concerns about his elbow,” Burns writes. The club is also wary of Casey Mize’s injury, which is part of the reason Atlanta held off making a full-fledged push for Mize this past summer. As Burns puts it, “the Braves were prominently linked to Mize at the trade deadline, though that interest was overstated.”
Mize hit the 15-day injured list three times in 2026, and twice before the Tigers dealt the right-hander to the Padres at the deadline. Mize missed a little over five weeks due to a pair of adductor-related injuries last season, and a sprained ankle in late September sidelined him again and kept him from participating in San Diego’s postseason run. Hamstring injuries cost Mize some time in both 2024 and 2025, but his biggest chapter of his medical history was the Tommy John surgery that cost him almost all of the 2022-23 seasons.
Beyond these injuries, there’s also the fact that Mize is entering free agency on the down note of his rough two months in a Padres uniform. After beginning 2026 with a 2.70 ERA over 86 2/3 innings with Detroit, Mize’s production went south after the trade, as he struggled to a 7.46 ERA in 44 2/3 frames with his new team. Mize’s strikeout and walks both went in the wrong direction post-trade, and he suddenly became very homer-prone — the righty was taken yard 13 times by Padres opponents, after giving up only five homers in his 86 2/3 IP for the Tigers.
With this tough finish in mind, MLB Trade Rumors ranked Mize 25th on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and projected him for a two-year, $28MM deal with an opt-out after the first year. The thinking was that since Mize isn’t likely to land a long-term offer at his desired asking price, he’ll take a shorter-term contract with the plan of posting strong numbers in 2027 and then returning to free agency next winter.
It’s a similar story with Pivetta, ranked 28th on our list with a projection of two years and $26MM. Pivetta was limited to eight starts and 34 2/3 innings for the Padres in 2026, as a flexor strain sent him to the injured list for almost five full months. Because he spent over 130 consecutive days on the IL with an arm-related injury, Pivetta’s $14MM player option for 2027 became a club option for the Padres. The team then chose to decline that option, freeing up $32MM in salary since Pivetta was also owed $18MM in 2028.
While the season obviously didn’t go as Pivetta expected, he still pitched well when healthy, delivering a 2.86 ERA, 30K% and 5.7BB% over his 34 2/3 regular-season innings (plus a 3.52 ERA in 7 2/3 playoff frames). Pivetta is entering his age-34 season so that’s another question in regards to his durability, but he figures to draw plenty of attention as a bounce-back candidate.
It should be noted that Burns wasn’t ruling out Pivetta or Mize as potential Atlanta targets this winter, but merely stating the concerns that the Braves and other teams will naturally have when considering the two right-handers. Plus, vying for Mize at the trade deadline and trying to sign him as a free agent are two different things — Mize will just cost the Braves money now, whereas the Tigers’ asking price may have certainly played a part in Atlanta’s hesitations about a trade.
If anything, the fact that Mize and Pivetta could be seeking shorter-term contracts might increase the Braves’ interest. Alex Anthopoulos has generally eschewed major free agent signings over his nine years in change of the club’s front office, as Marcell Ozuna’s four-year, $65MM deal remains the largest free agent contract of the Anthopoulos era. Robert Suarez’s three-year, $45MM pact from last winter is the second-largest deal on the list, and the largest deal ever given to a pitcher.
Beyond Mize and Pivetta, any number of other pitchers could be on the Braves’ radar either as free agents or trade candidates. Anthopoulos is known for swinging unexpected trades, with the Sale deal standing out as one of the biggest steals in recent years. The Braves usually move quicker than other teams in getting some significant moves completed by early November, but with the lockout looming on December 1, Anthopoulos’ early-bird tactics might be curbed by many other teams similarly trying to get things done before the transactions freeze.
Hence then, the article about details on braves rotation search was published today ( ) and is available on MLBtraderumors ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Details On Braves’ Rotation Search )
Also on site :
- Dortmund Host Elversberg in Crucial Bundesliga Clash as Title Race Heats Up
- A ‘geologic freak’ called the Smackover may end America’s lithium dependence on China, and Big Oil is already there
- ‘Triplets of Belleville’ Director Sylvain Chomet Fires Back at AI Accusations Over Dior Film Featuring Robert Pattinson’s Voice: ‘Everything Was Drawn by Hand’ (EXCLUSIVE)