:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69033612/usa_today_15070306.0.jpg)
Bryse Wilson had pretty clearly won the competition for the fifth spot in the rotation that was, at least temporarily, open due to Mike Soroka not being ready quite yet to start the 2021 season. Huascar Ynoa seems more like a relief arm and at the very least isn’t ready to snag starts in the rotation and Kyle Wright continued to look great one minute and decidedly not great the next. The writing was on the wall when Wright was sent down earlier in camp, but Snitker intimated that Bryse was going to be the guy when the Braves needed a fifth starter.
However, he also said that the Braves weren’t going to need a fifth starter for a spell as they were going to go with a bullpen game for the first turn in the rotation. As a result, while Bryse is going to get a shot early in the season, he also gets to be a part of some roster shenanigans.
Wilson was optioned to the Braves' alternate training site today. As mentioned below, he would be eligible to return before the Braves will first use a fifth starter, possibly on April 13. https://t.co/rbuR5EcKWt
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) March 26, 2021
The roster move allows the Braves to carry another reliever which, given it is early in the season so starters may not go as long as well as the aforementioned bullpen game, could be quite helpful. It does limit the Braves a bit, though, as they will not be able to bring Bryse back up before April 11th. That shouldn’t be a problem if everything goes according to plan. Now, if a starter has to miss a start early in the season...well, things could get a bit more interesting.