As the Braves get richer, risk to not spend on pitching grows larger

And there you have it, it would seem. Losing rising star Spencer Schwellenbach for at least two months to an elbow injury and possibly more — and the same for potential rotation member Hurston Waldrep — does not faze Braves leaders.

And they may be right. The citizenry of Braves Nation may just be experiencing a February panic attack.

The team knows far more than outsiders about the health and expected effectiveness of Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo López and Grant Holmes, who are all projected to be in the rotation but who also all missed significant time last year with injuries.

If they stay healthy, it has the makings of a formidable group along with potential No. 5 starter Bryce Elder, combining with a potent lineup and solid bullpen. FanGraphs projects the Braves to win the second most games in MLB for a reason.

But the starting rotation may not last the season. After all, the Braves presumably had the same confidence last February before the pitching rotation apocalypse descended upon Truist Park.

From McGuirk on down, the Braves are taking a stiff risk by standing pat. Particularly when, as was made clear Wednesday, a lack of funds is not an issue.

Remember these words from McGuirk: “We believe we are well-positioned with a strong roster and organizational depth to be competitive this season.”

And this: “As I stated on our last call, we are driven to return to the tradition of winning and championships and Alex Anthopoulos, our president of baseball operations, has done an excellent job of navigating this offseason and adding some key free agents to the team.”

It was on that November call that McGuirk espoused a goal of being in the top five in payroll after last year’s disappointing season. As of Wednesday, the Braves were No. 8 in tax payroll by the measure of Spotrac, at $246 million, about $54 million out of the No. 5 spot. According to Fangraphs, the Braves were sixth in projected payroll at $264 million, $19 million behind No. 5 Philadelphia.

McGuirk did not address that goal Wednesday, and an interview request from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, made Tuesday for after the conference call, was denied. His position may be that it was deemed not necessary to keep adding because of, in his words, the “elite roster.”

But it would be hard to believe that it was because the Braves couldn’t afford it.

Among the numbers shared Wednesday was Braves Holdings’ 172% year-over-year growth in adjusted OIBDA — for those more familiar with WHIP and WAR, it’s a key measure of a company’s financial performance — from $39.7 million to $107.8 million.

Holy OIBDA!

Further, there’s even more projected revenue on the way, thanks to BravesVision.

On the call, team CFO and executive vice president Jill Robinson hinted at the potential profitability of the team’s new broadcast network.

“Now, as you look forward, without disclosing too much here, you may see a difference in how the cash flow comes in with us running the business now as opposed to outsourcing the media business to FanDuel (Sports Network),” she said.

Maybe it was just me, but “You may see a difference in how the cash flow comes in” kind of sounded like “You may see a difference in how frequently we take baths in tubs filled with $100 bills.”

More power to the Braves for having the foresight and initiative to take control of their broadcast operations and reap the rewards of that investment.

Ultimately, though, they can take that risk because of their trust in the team’s loyal fans, who broke a team record for single-season ticket sales, according to team CEO and president Derek Schiller.

The fans who, when they purchase the Braves.TV streaming service, will be putting their money directly into the team’s accounts.

The fans who are desperate to see the Braves win the World Series.

And, should their fears be realized, the fans who are going to remember how McGuirk and Anthopoulos decided to stand pat when they had money to spend.

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