The Atlanta Braves will enter the offseason with more questions than any team in Major League Baseball.
Whether it be from a managerial perspective, with many expecting Brian Snitker to hang it up, the team not playing the type of baseball it expected to entering the year, and many other factors, the Braves have to be busy this winter if they want to be the team they're looking to be in 2026.
Plenty went wrong for Atlanta throughout the year, but the lack of quality arms in its starting rotation was clear for much of the year. For a Braves team that was expected to be one of the best in baseball after being that over the past few seasons, there's no reason why their rotation performed the way it did.
Will the Braves be an option for Dylan Cease?
There will be ways for them to improve that throughout the offseason, and Jackson Roberts of Sports Illustrated thinks there's a potential fix, noting that San Diego Padres right-hander Dylan Cease could be an option.
“The starting pitching market is convoluted this winter, and Cease's rough year (4.59 ERA in 30 starts) is a big part of that. But the Braves don't need to find the free-agent starter who's going to put up the stingiest ERA next season -- they need the starter who's most likely not to miss a few months on the injured list.
“There's only one pitcher in Major League Baseball with 200 strikeouts in each of the last five seasons, and his initials are D.C. Plus, Cease is an Atlanta area native, so there's high potential for a bounce-back season in the comforts of home,” he wrote.
MORE: Padres' Mike Shildt comments on Dylan Cease's struggles this season
The Padres will have some tough decisions to make this winter as well, mainly on the mound.
They have multiple starting pitchers, including Cease and Michael King, clearly the top two arms in their rotation when healthy, but the addition of Mason Miller could’ve changed that.
Reports indicated at the trade deadline that the Padres view him as a potential starter moving forward, so losing Cease might not be as bad as it sounds.