Another weekday, another opportunity for the Braves to capture headlines with their purported pursuit of a frontline starter.
This time, however, the news is of a negatory nature, courtesy of John Hart on MLB Network:
John Hart just said on @MLBNetwork that #Braves “not close” on any big SP, added team is mindful of not accelerating rebuild too quickly.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 21, 2016
With the winter meetings still ahead, it remains to be seen whether the Braves will strike for another option at the top of their rotation, or turn their focus to position players and/or relief pitchers. Alternatively, the Braves may continue to look for bargains and stopgaps on the rotation front (note how Rosenthal’s wording is “big SP”), though the rotation is getting somewhat full with Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz, Bartolo Colon, and R.A. Dickey seemingly assured spots, and a healthy competition possibly brewing for the fifth spot between Matt Wisler, Aaron Blair, John Gant, Rob Whalen, and potentially other options.
The Braves have previously been linked to Chris Sale and Chris Archer. Sonny Gray of the Oakland Athletics is another possible target as well.