The Braves announced the 26-man roster they’ll carry into their World Series showdown against the AL Champion Houston Astros. It’s largely the same as the roster they carried for their National League Championship Series against the Dodgers, albeit with a few minor changes. Outfielder Terrance Gore will take over a bench spot at the expense of utilityman Johan Camargo, while right-hander Kyle Wright will replace fellow righty Jacob Webb on the pitching staff.
Here’s how the entire roster breaks down…
Right-Handed Pitchers
- Ian Anderson
- Jesse Chavez
- Luke Jackson
- Chris Martin
- Charlie Morton (Game 1 starter)
- Kyle Wright
Left-Handed Pitchers
- Max Fried (Game 2 starter)
- Dylan Lee
- Tyler Matzek
- A.J. Minter
- Will Smith
- Drew Smyly
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Wright joins the postseason roster for the first this year as a replacement for Webb, who struggled mightily in the NLCS. Webb appeared in two games and faced 10 batters, yielding four runs on four hits (including a homer) and a walk. The 26-year-old Wright could give manager Brian Snitker a bit more length in relief, as he worked as a starter in Triple-A this season.
Wright hasn’t pitched since Oct. 2 but did fire seven shutout innings that day — the final outing of a season that saw him notch a 3.02 ERA and 3.33 FIP in 137 frames with Triple-A Gwinnett. Wright was unscored upon in his final three Triple-A appearances this season, rattling off 22 shutout innings with a 19-to-4 K/BB ratio. He tossed just 6 1/3 innings for Atlanta at the big league level in ’21, but the former No. 5 overall draft pick has tallied 70 innings with the Braves over the past four years.
Gore, one of the game’s fastest pure runners, will be used as a pinch-runner late in games and perhaps as a defensive replacement if needed. With Adrianza and Arcia both giving the Braves some coverage at virtually any infield position, Camargo’s versatility was dropped for Gore’s more specialized skill set.
Meanwhile, the Braves will have slugger Jorge Soler at their disposal for an entire series (barring injury) for the first time this October. Soler tested positive for Covid-19 just prior to Game 4 of the NLDS in Milwaukee and was subsequently off the roster for the first four games of NLCS play.
Wright? i dunno about that one.
I guess if a game gets away he can eat some innings to save the pen. I like Wright, but not for this.
Wright may play a big part in game #4.
Camargo is a automatic out and has been for along time. With Arcia and Adrianza there is no need for Camargo. The one chance Gore had in the NLDS against the Brewers it made the pitcher extremely nervous. I know the Astros have a good defensive catcher in Maldonado but Gore should give even him fits. Outside of Rosario/Albies there’s not much speed so I like that move. I’d rather see Strider than Wright but I’m starting to wonder if he’s not 100%. As bad as Webb has been I don’t think it’s possible Wright can do worse. Hopefully Luke Jackson hasn’t lost all his confidence because most of those pitches were actually pretty good the Dodgers roughed him up on. I think the Braves can do this and I’ve thought it ever since they won the division. Chop on!
Where did this narrative come that Rosario is fast? He’s ranked like 300 in sprint speed in MLB lol Swanson runs circles around him
For some reason the broadcasters in the NLCS mentioned Rosario ‘with good speed at first’ and I was like … what?
Swanson is the second fastest on the team right now, though his sprint speed is usually higher than Albies. I just think he doesn’t get going as quickly.
Crazy stat of the year is that Duvall has a higher average sprint speed than both Albies and Swanson. Didn’t see that one coming.
I muted the national broadcast and listened to 680 lol that’s crazy about Duvall, I knew he was kinda fast but never would’ve guessed that his sprint speed was faster than Ozzie and Dans tho. Guess once the train gets rolling ya can’t stop it
I think one of the Fox stats guys pulled the sprint speeds for the wrong Rosario and the announcers just ran with it. One of the Fox announcers mentioned Rosario’s speed and then said ‘oops that was Ahmed Rosario’.
I’m extremely glad to see Camargo off the roster. In the LCS it got to the point I’d have preferred to see Freid collecting Camargo’s PH appearances when he could.
My hope is Camargo’s next destination is another franchise.
He is as good as gone. The only reason they are keeping Arcia around is in case Swanson gets hurt. Both will be gone in 2022.
He’ll probably be used as an “opener”, at least I hope so
I still believe Webb will be elite one day, but I agree with the move to leave him off. I wish they removed Martin too. Nothing you can say will convince me he is better than R-Rod. Also, I’m disappointed Strider will not get a chance.
Otherwise, Let’s. Do. This!
Elite?
Yes. Two things going for him
1. He actually has very good stuff, just hasn’t learned the mental game yet. He will be a late bloomer, just may not be with the Braves.
2. He is deGrom’s twin. The genetics are there…
I agree Webb can be elite. He vastly outperformed his peripherals his first year which indicates luck, but he still had a 1.69 Era which is nothing to sneeze at. He also had a nice stretch this season where he was pretty untouchable when he came back up from AAA
Yeah, they should hold onto him. he was brilliant before the injury bug hit him.
Charlie Morton is a legend, his last three teams have gone to the WS now.
But didn’t his last two teams lose the series? Not exactly Robert Horry there.
This is not basketball. That is why!
Wright is going to make a splash in this series. Good or bad, he will have an impact.
@swanny. I think you are correct. Last year Wright had a brilliant start 6 innings pitched against Miami in the NLDS. Then a nightmare start in the NLCS where the Dodgers pounced all over him and Wright didn’t make it out of the first inning and was charged with 7 runs allowed. I am hoping for the best with Wright he has the talent. With Soroka down and Ynoa having shoulder problems I think Wright is still part of the Braves future.
Here’s hoping he pitches like what he did in the NLDS last year and Gwinnet at the end of the year. He’s got the potential, he’s just gotta trust his stuff and attack
Depending how the series goes, I could see Wright getting almost an opener assignment in game 4. They ask for 2-3 innings, and he gets a short leash. I agree though, how he does and where they use him may oddly be a key.
Braves won’t be afraid of the Astros
Having to face the Phillies, Mets, and Nationals lineups, Marlins pitching all year, plus Degrom, Scherzer, Wheeler, Nola, plus mainly the AL East teams, they won’t have a problem
Braves in 6. Darnaud MVP
I thought this was sarcasm after my first read. The NL East was the weakest division in baseball this year.
Strongest you mean. When all 5 teams are good and there’s no Pirates or Dbacks to beat up on, records will be closer to .500
Try to learn a little more how baseball works, casual
Nowhere in my comment did I say the Braves are bad or that they will lose – I actually like the Braves. But using how frequently they played scrub teams like the Marlins and Nationals as an example of their greatness read like sarcasm.
Also, last time I checked the AL East had four 90+ win teams so your suggestion that the NL East is the strongest division is absurd, especially when the Nationals were basically a AAA team plus Soto for the last few months of the season.
The Marlins and Nationals lost 95 and 97 games, respectively. What are you talking about? I like the Braves and anything can happen in a short series, but you are an egregious homer.
To play devil’s advocate, the Nationals got bad late in the season. Marlins have great pitching without an offense. Their records were bad, but the team construction was better than the majority of the bottom dwellers in the sport.
Yeah, you don’t know what you’re talking about
In no way were the Marlins a “scrub team.” Neither were the Nationals
Find a clue at some point. My time responding to you are over with this post
@c-dad. You just sit back and watch the ride. Fact is the team who won the most games in the NL EAST upset the Brewers and Dodgers in the playoffs and probably will do the same against the Astros. Also since the Astros have home field advantage which means a potential 4 games with a DH that’s even better odds for the Braves having Soler/Pederson/Duvall/Rosario all in the lineup.
Objectively, the Astros are the better team – especially with the experience they have. However, C-dad guy sounds just like every Dodger fan here and writer prior to the series. They said the same thing – the Dodgers are better than the Braves and will never beat them. Likewise, against the Brewers “elite” pitching.
Let’s see what happened next.
It wasn’t really an upset. Equalizing divisional factors the records would be the same or close
Dodgers had the Dbacks, Rockies, and the weak AL West all year, meanwhile the Braves had to face the Phillies, Mets, Marlins, Nationals, Yankees, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Rays for a bulk of the games
Casuals “post the records” as some sort of “proof” not knowing how good the Marlins pitching was all year, and how stacked the Phillies and Mets lineups were
I wouldn’t call the Mets lineup stacked. Pitching was though.
Put the top 5 NFL or NBA teams in one division and what happens? They’re all closer to .500. Records DONT MEAN anything relationally to other divisions
Yeah ok, Nimmo, Lindor, Alonso, Conforto, Davis, McNeil, Smith…yeah that’s terrible compared to the 3rd place Tigers and Reds
Then you have the fifth place Marlins that are absolutely loaded with pitching. A Nationals team with Soto Turner Scherzer.
I see. I watch the Mets almost every day. They are not elite in the lineup department.
Ok, ask MLB pitchers how tough getting through the Mets and Phillies lineup is. Then ask them all how it is getting through Soto and Turner
You’re facing those lineups 54 times. That’s 1/3 of the games. Then 18 games are against a loaded Marlins pitching. Most of the others are against the AL East
I will. Let me grab my phone and find them under my contacts. Hold up….
Dude.
4 of the 5 best teams in the entire AL played in the East. Only 100 win club in the league followed by 3 teams all whom were noticeably better than the Central champs. Whereas the mets, Marlins & Nationals were bad baseball teams. & Philly just wasn’t very good.
“Mediocre” is an overused word on this board.
But the NL East – outside of Atlanta – was mediocre. At best.
“…….. probably will do the same against the Astros..”
Sorry, but this is not PROBABLE, based on the predictions of experts, oddsmakers and analytics.
But, it IS POSSIBLE. Just not PROBABLE.
If the Braves win, it will be an upset………which is the opposite of a PROBABLY win.
Have the Braves played much in Minute Maid? It’s a House of Terror in the playoffs. Trash can lids or no trash can lids.
The AL West was NOT weak. Three teams more than 10 games over .500. One in the WS. One (Angels) that were right at .500 until the last 10 days.
the teams didnt do well, but its absurd to suggest there wasnt a lot of talent within the division.
Did you forget about the AL Central?
Yeah the NL East was the toughest best division all year, all teams in it would blow any other team out of the water.
Yeah because the White Sox were so good, having 4 lousy teams to beat up on all season. Try to comprehend how it all works
And here we are, the NL East team is about to win the World Series, despite the einsteins who think records matter in relation to other divisions
If all 5 teams in one division are strong, the records will be closer to .500. It’s not hard to figure out
Except the records weren’t close to .500. There were two teams in the division that almost lost 100 games and were objectively bad. You are just spewing nonsense at this point.
Records are division-dependent. The Nationals were 45-50 in late July. They sold the team off and tanked.
That’s exactly why the Braves started winning. Now imagine if they had that all season, and not just two months.
Trying to argue that the White Sox are better than the Braves because of the win loss record
In late July the Marlins .423 winning pct was the best of any last place team in baseball by far. And again, that record is tainted by having a brutal schedule with hardly any weak teams in the schedule
Actually, if all five team are MEDIOCRE or if all five teams are bad, the same thing will result.
Personally, I think the Braves were the only GOOD team in the division. The Phils were slightly above mediocre, the Mets were mediocre, and the Marlins and Nats were BAD.
Look at the expanded standings. EVERY TEAM IN THE NL EAST WAS AT LEAST SIX GAMES BELOW .500 AGAINST TEAMS THAT WERE GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO .500. Bad division, man, bad division.
The Marlins and the Nats actually finished below .500 against teams that were below .500.
@sonora
You get it. Just look at the NL East’s record in interleague play as an example – terrible division. Camden’s “the NL East is great because I say so” argument is at odds with all the available evidence.
It’s not debatable camden453 you’re a new fan and know very little about baseball. The nl east sucks and is far from the best division in baseball.
@Camden452 don’t waste your time with that CDaddy guy as he hasn’t got a clue about sport or baseball.
As far as I am concerned the NL East didn’t have an Arizona DBacks in its division, nor a Colorado Rockies-who were pretty good at home but awful on the road. Go and look at how many times the Dodgers and the Giants beat up on these two teams. The difference between the NL West and NL East is that there was no easy beat team, unless you want to tell me the Marlins & the Nationals were the Diamondbacks or the Rockies of the NL East, and that is why all the teams in the NL East were more competitive. Don’t forget that Scherzer & Turner were with the Nationals for most of the season, and so was De Grom with the Mets. The Marlins have a decent pitching staff as well, and so do the Mets. I’d suggest you go and look at the Braves run differential as opposed to Giants, Dodgers, and take into consideration the runs totalled against DBacks and Rockies by Giants and Dodgers. The Braves scored 790 runs, Giants 804, Dodgers 830, it’s not a significant difference.
Braves are giving me some serious 2019 Nationals vibes.
the parallels are mostly there. i dont think they do it, but it’s not surprising.
That’s a very good observation. They DO feel like the 2019 Nats. Serious momentum. And they have faced better teams than the Astros have in the playoffs.
I was a huge Rays fan all year. Really wanted them to win their first WS. But I knew their offense and all the BP injuries would cost them. It’s strange saying their offense would cost them with all the runs they scored, but their low BA and high K rate was eventually going to doom them. They mashed a lot of bad pitching staffs, especially the Red Sox and the Orioles. That’s how they accumulated all those runs.
And, ultimately, Cruz did not hit well for them.
Who cares if they played tougher teams in the playoffs. It’s a coin flip series just like every mlb playoff series is.
I see Luke Jackson is on the roster again. Don’t understand the strategy of throwing at least one game away, but it’s worked so far.
Luke Jackson was lights out all season and vs the Brewers and during games 1 and 2 vs Dodgers. He had 2 bad innings in games 3 and 6. You don’t leave him out.
Just hope the Braves hitters continue their clutch hitting. Funny how speed ( Gore) isn’t part of the game until when the games really count, the World Series. Glad Fred McGriff mentioned it. The pitcher and catcher have to change the routine and both be on their toes. The pitcher has to Hurry a pitch. The catcher is Not able to sit tight and frame the pitch. The defense has to tighten up and possibly hurry what they do with the ball. Kansas City put this in play the year they beat the Mets in the World Series. Since then, it has all but been forgotten.
bold prediction – Gore gets an AB and it’s a big one this series.
Inside the Parker off yordans glove
I actually like these moves on roster. I’m iffy about Kyle Wright, but part of me thinks he will redeem himself.
return of Gore
How does Gore’s salary work? Does he only get paid in postseason bonuses? Just curious.
Paid per stolen base. Since taco bell will give us a free taco for a stolen base. It should be a taco for each stolen base. That’s a lot of tacos but they can easily comply.
No one is giving the Bravos a chance. Battle Atlanta just Battle every pitch, every at bat. Play solid defense, Pitchers play up to their abilities and we have a shot.
Trust me. The Astros are giving the braves a chance. Our team overrates nobody. Dont let the national media fool you. This team is humble and hungry. If the Braves win its because they played great
A majority of people picked braves in 6 on the poll. At least that’s what was in the lead after I vote and by a wide margin
What the over/under for bullpen games for this series?
Probably 1 bullpen game for each team is my guess
Not sure what to think when well rested starters result in a bullpen game for both teams. What’s the over/under on position players pitching in this series?
EVERY game is virtually a bullpen game, now. When even guys like Scherzer get pulled before 5 innings and four or more BP pitchers are used, it qualifies as a BP game to me.
Good thing you have no say in what constitutes a BP game then.
I think the Astros win but can see a braves title through charlie morton. Hes the one guy that doesnt care about nothing but success when hes on the mound and he has owned us the last several seasons since we foolishly let him leave
ATL will win as long as they start Morton in any elimination game.
Pretty sure Morton wanted to play on the east coast.
Going for the Braves. Mostly for Joc,Soler and Contreras.
Can we please stop being so dumb with this gore concepts. I mean heck, if speed is concern, then put Pache in there. At least you have a better bat and much better defense than gore! SMH….
Also those complaining about wright, it makes sense. We need a 2nd bulk guy for bullpen games now that yona is out. Who else do we go with? Idk. Wright is just fine here. Let’s just hope we don’t have to use him
Idk. Wright is a perfect redemption guy. As someone said before, he might be the difference in the series in both ways.
I don’t think Wright will have an impact. Allows them to slide Smyly into a normal role. One of the games will be a rout and Wright can eat innings. I think that is what he is on the roster for.
Braves have Soler leading off with Rosario hitting fifth. I’m okay with that.
Of course, Albies still hitting third…but who knows. Maybe he will get it going against Astros pitching.
Go Braves, beat those Cheatin’ Asstros!
Wright is gonna prove he is ready by pitching a huge Game 4 & solidify his spot in the rotation moving forward. His stuff is excellent when he has the confidence to attack hitters and not nibble.
Highly disappointed that Rodriguez is left off again.. Jackson has been terrible .. and Lee is useless vs the Astros RH lineup..
Brantley, Alvarez and Tucker are 3 of the Astros best hitters arguably their best 3 hitters.
I really think the key to this entire series is how well Matzek does when he is brought in in high leverage situations against the 2-3-4-5 hitters of the Astros with men on base. If he can mow through the Astros like he did the Dodgers, the Braves just MIGHT generate enough offense to steal this series. Rosario can’t possible stay this hot.
Ready to go boys, ready to go. As I see it they need to win 1 bookend game in Houston and 2 at home will get it done!
Go Braves!!!!!
Riley, Swanson, and Duvall sure love swinging at balls. I’m convinced if you keep throwing sliders not in the zone, they will whiff all the time.
Ughh don’t let it be a hammy.
Unbelievable!
Possibly a calf strain.
Baseball G-ds love the Astros!
If the Baseball G-ds are on the Braves side, Morton has nothing more than swelling. Braves win game 1. He comes back and pitches game 4. Braves sweep! Maybe that is the calling?
Fractured fibula, unbelievable. That’s baseball.
Go the Braves, get 1 more win in Houston.