It’s time for the Braves to acquire a starting pitcher to bolster the depleted rotation. Injuries to four starting pitchers has left their rotation paper-thin in terms of depth. Add in the fact that three of the team’s five projected starters are coming back from season-ending injuries, and it’s easy to see why starting pitching depth is essential.
Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo Lopez, Grant Holmes, and Bryce Elder are the current favorites to represent the Braves starting pitching rotation on Opening Day. Other options include journeymen José Suarez, Martín Pérez, and Carlos Carrasco, alongside minor league prospects JR Ritchie, Didier Fuentes, and Hayden Harris. None of those options are appealing if the team suffers an injury to another starter.
Without further ado, let’s examine some available starting pitchers for the Braves to consider signing or trading for before the 2026 Major League Baseball season starts.
Lucas Giolito (free agent)
Giolito is perhaps the youngest viable free agent starting pitcher still on the market. There are reasons why he hasn’t signed yet of course, starting with the fact that he overestimated his market this offseason after opting out of a deal with the Red Sox. Performance-related reasons include his high WHIP (1.29) and high K/BB rate (2.2).
Still though, Giolito finished last season with a 3.41 ERA in 145.0 innings (26 starts). Those numbers are what many teams expect out of their No. 3 or 4 starting pitcher. For the Braves, he would represent an upgrade over Bryce Elder as the No. 5 starter.
Patrick Corbin (free agent)
The Braves know Corbin quite well as he spent six seasons with the rival Nationals. He’s a 36-year-old lefty who had a bit of a bounceback season in 2025 after several years of disappointment, ending 2025 with a 4.40 ERA in 155.1 innings (30 starts).
Corbin is not without flaws, as his high ERA & high WHIP (1.37) will certainly attest. That said, he has made 30 or more starts in five consecutive seasons, an impressive feat that holds immense value in today’s game where starters are regularly injured.
With so much uncertainty in the Braves rotation regarding health and performance, signing a starting pitcher like Patrick Corbin could prove to be a worthwhile move.
Sandy Alcantara (trade candidate)
Admittedly, the Atlanta Braves making a move to acquire Alcantara’s services from the division rival Miami Marlins seems like a big pipe dream, but it’s not impossible. After all, the Braves recently acquired an additional $15 million from the Jurickson Profar fiasco, and they must feel desperate to add high quality starter by this point.
Alcantara holds a $17M salary for this year and a $21M club option for 2027, so he’s signed to a fairly reasonable contract for a frontline starting pitcher of his caliber. That’s also why the cost to acquire his services will be high, and it’s unclear whether the Braves are interested in trading talented minor league prospects to make a deal.
Honorable Mentions: Charlie Morton, Julio Teheran
Is it possible that the two recent Braves retirees could return for one more season? Kidding of course, but the fact that we’re having this discussion is pretty hilarious.
The Sports Beacon 