Competition is a word that has been thrown around a lot this offseason for the Atlanta Braves. With Julio Teheran entrenched and new additions Jaime Garcia, R.A. Dickey and Bartolo Colon on board, one of the biggest spring battles could be for the fifth starter spot.
Braves manager Brian Snitker discussed the team’s new rotation additions and the competition for the fifth starter spot earlier at today’s media session.
“There’s still going to be competition for jobs, but we got the guys we wanted (R.A. Dickey, Bartolo Colon and Jaime Garcia). At the end of last year we started looking at how we wanted to improve our club and the guys we wanted to go after. We got the guys we wanted.”
Mike Foltynewicz appears to be the favorite for the final rotation spot given the strides he made in 2016. However, Matt Wisler and Aaron Blair are still in the picture as are others and all indications suggest that the Braves are going to treat it as an open competition throughout the spring.
“I think it’s a job that right now, I’m not giving it away. The competition is good and I think everybody needs to feel like they can be that guy. We have seven weeks, so a lot can happen. I think these guys will be ready. Competition isn’t anything but good for a situation like that.”
What do you think the Braves rotation will look like to open the season? Can Matt Wisler, Aaron Blair or anyone else unseat Mike Foltynewicz?
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