3 Potential New Starters for Atlanta Braves in 2015
The season got away from Atlanta late in the year. With a poor second half and terrible September, the Braves are out of the playoff chase. However, a sour ending to the season does not mean there's nothing to build on for 2015.
The Braves did a number of things really well this year, namely on the pitching side. Other than those hurling asterisks who pitch at Petco Park, Atlanta pitchers have allowed the second-fewest runs in the National League, trailing only the Washington Nationals.
Their starters also lead all of baseball in quality starts on the season.
Of course, not all of these starters will be back in 2015. Both Ervin Santana and Aaron Harang were on one-year deals and will become free agents. An abundance of questions remain pertaining to Mike Minor and his role in the rotation next season as well.
Returning from injury will also be arms like Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy. It remains to be seen how Atlanta will use these guys and how much faith it has in them long-term.
The only rotation spots seemingly not up for grabs will be held by Julio Teheran and Alex Wood. Both young hurlers have been very good this year and don't become free agents until 2020.
After them, the possibilities are vast.
James Shields
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Even if two of Minor, Medlen and Beachy are inserted into the 2015 rotation, Atlanta will still need to add a starter who can give it 200-plus innings.
The 2015 crop of potential free agents is actually solidly deep at starting pitcher compared to other positions.
While the likes of Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett may retire and players like Johnny Cueto and Yovani Gallardo have option years, there are a number of arms Atlanta should be looking at.
One who could challenge Teheran as the ace of the Braves staff is James Shields.
Shields should end up costing a team a little less than top guys Jon Lester and Max Scherzer. As a bonus, he's just as good a pitcher as those guys and brings the Big Game James moniker and personality along with him.
Atlanta lacked a bit of leadership and big-game confidence down the stretch of this season. Shields can hop right in and lead this team's staff from day one. As a bonus, his moving from the AL to the NL could buoy his numbers.
Brandon McCarthy
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After a midseason deal to the New York Yankees, Brandon McCarthy proved his career was not on the way down after all.
In 13 starts, McCarthy was dazzling, finishing with a 2.54 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 5.69 strikeouts per walk. All would have been career bests had they come throughout the whole season.
He is also the type of middle-aged, middle-tiered starter who could come on the cheap or be had for a one-year deal similar to what Atlanta was able to accomplish with Santana and Harang this season.
Although McCarthy will surely not pitch an entire season as well as he did as a Yankee, as a potential fourth or fifth starter for the Braves, he could be a huge asset.
Carlos Villanueva
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With so many high-impact arms battling for spots in the rotation in 2015, the smartest move the Braves could make to shore up their final rotation spot would be adding a man who can slide between starting and long relief.
Carlos Villanueva is a perfect fit for that type of job. If Minor straightens things out or Medlen and Beachy return to form, Villanueva can be used out of the pen. This past season for Chicago, he saw action in 41 contests, with just five of those outings being starts.
However, if options fall through, Villanueva can also be counted on to start. He tallied double-digit starts in each of the previous three seasons before 2014.
While his overall numbers aren't spectacular, he's a solid arm who can strike people out. He has a 7.8 career K/9 mark, and his 3.18 FIP from this season indicates he was a much better performer than his ERA would make you believe. Moving from the Cubs to the Braves, who have a very good outfield defense and one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball, can only help.
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