Another costly Braves injury could help clear path for Phillies' NL East title

The NL East seems to get tougher every year for the Philadelphia Phillies. Although they've won back-to-back division titles, the road back to the top will be steep. The New York Mets tanked in the second half of 2025, and reloaded this offseason in an attempt to shake off that embarrassment. The Atlanta Braves also severely underperformed last year, clearing the path for the Phils. They have designs on returning as the dominant force they were when they won six straight division titles from 2018 to 2023, including a World Series in 2021. Who knows where the Mets end up, but the real question is how good can the Braves really be after another blow to their starting rotation? Their latest loss is previous Cy Young contender Spencer Strider.

On paper, the Braves' lineup is impressive. They have multiple MVP-caliber players with an abundance of All-Star appearances. Their offense is elite, but it's their rotation that has continued to fail them. It was the downfall of their season in 2025 after a combined 4.48 ERA, which ranked 18th in MLB. Strider is just the latest to fall on that staff after he went down with a strained oblique, one of the most unpredictable injuries a pitcher can suffer.

How Spencer Strider injury, Braves' other rotation woes could help Phillies' NL East quest

Strider could only miss a couple of weeks to start the season (but only if all goes well). That takes an already thin staff in Atlanta and puts them even further behind the eight ball. He finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting in 2023, but has been unable to stay healthy ever since. Both Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep are already on the 60-day IL after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies in their elbows. Rookie A.J. Smith-Shawver is also recovering from Tommy John surgery he had back in June. After all the injuries, the Braves' rotation looks quite unfamiliar after Chris Sale.

The Phillies have a stellar rotation, working in direct contrast to Atlanta's maladies. According to FanGraphs, they finished tops in MLB last year with a 21.5 fWAR. They're soon to be led by top Cy Young contender Zack Wheeler, followed by freshly inked left-handers Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo. Not to mention, Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter round them out as possibly some of the best back-end rotation pieces you could ask for. The Braves simply don't have that luxury and haven't been able to stay healthy long enough to make a difference.

Pitching isn't everything, but most championship teams have an abundance of depth and a solid rotation to get them through the grind of regular season baseball. The Phillies have one of the best rotations in baseball and relied on it heavily for multiple 90-win seasons. Who knows where the Phillies would have been without the aces on their staff?

The Phillies are poised to make that run again, but the Braves are seeing the ugly side of things now and could get another taste of below-.500 baseball in 2026. That might just lead to the NL East crown being placed on the Phillies' head once again.