Ken Rosenthal Ponders Braves' Plan For Pitching Moving Forward

NORTH PORT – The Atlanta Braves are just two days into spring training with their pitchers and catchers, but injury news has already started flooding in. Spencer Schwellenbach was placed on the 60-day injured list on Tuesday, while Reynaldo López and Grant Holmes work to return from injuries that cost them their 2025 seasons.

A need that was already present has only grown.

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, who joined Foul Territory, discussed the predicament the Braves find themselves in already, but also what they could stand to do about it moving forward.

Losing Spencer Schwellenbach to the 60-day IL likely doesn't change the Braves financial approach if they were to add a starter externally, says @Ken_Rosenthal. pic.twitter.com/OY8t0SuJJL
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) February 11, 2026

“It’s not clear exactly what they are willing to spend,” the MLB insider said. “The one thing that is a little bit different with them, and they’ve been unwilling to deal with this due to the qualifying offer situation, is the loss of a draft pick. The pick they would lose is No. 26 overall. That’s kind of a high pick to lose, and they’ve been reluctant to do that. They would do it for the right pitcher, I don’t know if Zac Gallen on a short-term deal is that pitcher – I still expect him to go back to Arizona.”

Gallen, 30, would serve to provide the Braves with some critical reliability. He has started 28 or more games in every season since 2021, throwing for 121.0 innings in each of those years. Last season, the veteran put together a solid performance with a 4.83 ERA with 176 hits and 175 strikeouts over 192.0 innings.

If the Braves chose that route, he could provide them with a steady, middle-of-the-rotation presence that they desperately need.

“I don’t know if it changes anything for them financially,” Rosenthal continued. “They were going to spend what they were going to spend, and the guys out there right now were only going to get a certain amount. They’re not getting incredibly lucrative deals. My question would be, do you take two instead of one? Maybe you take one of the veterans that is still out there and trade for someone else.

“It was already determined, by them, to be an area of need.”

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The expected 2025 rotation of Spencer Strider, Chris Sale, Schwellenbach, López, and Holmes never came together. Not a single guy made more than 28 starts last season.

Various injuries doomed the staff, and they never featured a clean bill of health as they stumbled to the end of the year. The struggles of the patchwork staff highlighted the glaring need that the team had on the mound.

The 2026 season was expected to be a fresh start for the Braves, but the recent rash of injuries only punctuated the growing need for arms in the rotation.