Already panic time for the winless Braves? Plus, the White Sox’s surprising feat

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The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic’s MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox.

Well, this is not what we expected from Atlanta … or the White Sox, while we’re at it. Plus: Garrett Crochet and the Red Sox renewed their vows yesterday. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!

Yikes: Braves in crisis?

It was just eight days ago when I picked the Braves to win the NL East. Five days before that, Ken told us the Braves might have the juice to knock off the Dodgers this year — something I also suggested earlier in the month.

Well, they started the season by going 0-4 in San Diego behind offensive struggles, bullpen struggles and … well, it was a lot of offensive struggles. After scoring seven runs in their first two games (both losses), they didn’t score again until the eighth inning of last night’s 6-1 loss to the Dodgers. They’re 0-5.

In between those runs, another big blow: OF Jurickson Profar, who signed a three-year, $42 million deal this offseason, was suspended 80 games after a positive test for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) —  a fertility drug often taken after steroids (if it sounds familiar, it’s what Manny Ramirez tested positive for in 2009).

All of a sudden, it makes a lot more sense why the Braves signed Alex Verdugo recently, and why they acquired Stuart Fairchild from the Reds earlier yesterday (teams and players often have a little heads up when something like this is coming down the pipe).

Oh, right: And Reynaldo López is on the 15-day IL with shoulder inflammation now.

Rains –> pours, etc.

Now Atlanta will face the Dodgers for two more games before an off day. After that, the Braves get to come back for their home opener against the Marlins. If the cold streak extends through that series, we officially have a major crisis in Atlanta … right?

With more on that, here’s Ken…

Ken’s Notebook: Atlanta is already playing from behind

From my latest column:

The suspension of Profar for 80 games is a problem. The inflammation in López’s right shoulder might be a bigger problem. But the real trouble for the Braves started around Thanksgiving, when they backed out of a deal for free-agent right-hander Jeff Hoffman over a concern with his shoulder.

The Braves intended Hoffman to be the centerpiece of their offseason restructuring, a distinction that ultimately fell to Profar and his three-year, $42 million free-agent contract. The plan was to convert Hoffman from a reliever into a starter, just as the Braves did with López a year ago. Hoffman, 32, also could have returned to their bullpen at any point if the team’s rotation proved deep enough, providing flexibility that more conventional free-agent starters could not.

The Orioles also nixed a deal with Hoffman in January, prompting him to sign a three-year, $33 million contract with the Blue Jays. Hoffman told SportsNet that both the Braves and Orioles “came back with offers with less money. So, you can read into that what you want.”

The Braves did not sign any other free-agent pitcher to a major-league deal. And five games into the season, both their rotation and bullpen already look thin.

Yet, even with the 1-2 punch the Braves absorbed Monday on Profar and López, and even with their 0-5 record, they still might be OK. They expect right-hander Spencer Strider and catcher Sean Murphy to return from the injured list by the end of April and right fielder Ronald Acuña by the start of May. And with Profar’s unpaid suspension for a banned performance-enhancing substance, they will save approximately $5.8 million in salary and luxury-tax payroll.

Profar will be ineligible for the postseason if the Braves qualify, but the team is now almost $14 million under the luxury-tax threshold, according to Fangraphs. The actual amount of cash available is even higher, according to a source briefed on the club’s situation. And the only cost for exceeding the threshold would be financial; the Braves, by going over a third straight year, would pay a 50 percent tax on every dollar they spent above $241 million. Hardly an oppressive penalty, if the Braves even get there.

President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos generally is aggressive at the deadline, and now is in position to pursue virtually any player who becomes available, regardless of salary. Marlins righty Sandy Alcántara currently figures to be the biggest prize, assuming the Marlins are willing to move him. With Profar set to return in late June, Anthopoulos also will have time to assess the state of his offense before the trade deadline July 31.

Still, the what-might-have-been with Hoffman could linger.

Tim Heitman / Imagn Images

Big Deals: Red Sox extend Garrett Crochet

Sometimes you just know at first sight.

Four days after making his Red Sox debut, Garrett Crochet has signed an extension for six years and $170 million.

Crochet, 25, was set to hit free agency this offseason after just one year in Boston. Given the prospect package they gave up to acquire him last December, it makes sense the Red Sox want to ensure the left-handed ace sticks around for a while.

I guess it also means he’ll be available for the playoffs. Remember that? When Crochet said last year that if he were traded, he would want an extension or he wouldn’t be available for the postseason? Crochet has since clarified, telling WEEI the demand was more about remaining a starting pitcher, since some teams were viewing him as a back-end reliever. There hadn’t been much (if any) discussion about that since the trade, but it was certainly the first thing I thought about.

For what it’s worth, sticking with starting has been the right call. Since transitioning from the bullpen in Chicago for the 2024 season, Crochet has a 3.58 ERA with 213 strikeouts and just 35 walks in 151 innings. He’s also 6-12, but that’s more a byproduct of being a member of the 2024 White Sox.

More Red Sox extensions: Could rookie Kristian Campbell be next?

👀: White Sox surprise era?

OK, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But through their first four games, the White Sox (2-2) have done something we’ve only seen four times since 1913, per Sarah Langs: Their starters have not given up a run. You would think that accomplishing this feat would be a good omen, wouldn’t you?

Friends, it is not. Here’s the list of all the other teams who have done that (and their records at the end of the season):

2019 — Toronto Blue Jays (67-95)

2013 — San Francisco Giants (76-86)

1976 — Milwaukee Brewers (66-95)

Weird, right?

At any rate, the most impressive outing was yesterday, when Martín Pérez pitched six no-hit innings against the Twins before being removed from the game. Alas, the first reliever on the scene was 25-year-old rookie Mike Vasil, who was making his big-league debut. Vasil allowed two hits in two innings of work before handing it off to Brandon Eisert, who pitched a hitless ninth.

This is a story, to be sure. But maybe a bigger story is that the Twins are 0-4. And while the Braves have the excuse of facing the red-hot Padres and Dodgers, the Twins have done this against the sort-of-rebuilding Cardinals and historically wretched (well, at least they were last year) White Sox.

Handshakes and High Fives

The A’s made their Sacramento debut last night against the Cubs. Evan Drellich has more on the team’s relationship with the city. Meanwhile, owner John Fisher says he feels confident, not nervous about the team’s tenure in Sacramento, while Oakland native Nico Hoerner of the Cubs has thoughts about the team leaving Oakland.

Once the game started, the A’s lost 18-3. Cubs catcher Carson Kelly hit for the cycle — the first Cub since Mark Grace in 1993 to do it! Then (pitcher) Colin Rea struck out facing (catcher) Jhonny Pereda on the mound. It’s gonna be a truly weird year in Sacramento.

Related: This interview room sucks, and when it’s 100 degrees out this summer, it feels like we’re looking at a health hazard.

Monday afternoon in batting practice, Elly De La Cruz tried out a “torpedo” bat for the first time. He decided to use it in the game and went 4-for-5 with two home runs and seven RBIs. Of note: Marucci and Victus now have those these bats for sale to the general public. Also: players around the league weigh in.

We have Power Rankings! The crew looks at each team’s most encouraging sign.

He’s not expected to miss much time, but Freddie Freeman was out of the Dodgers’ lineup on Monday after tweaking his balky ankle in the shower.

I’m pretty sure I mentioned this last year, pre-release, but last week, I finally saw the new baseball film “Eephus.” I highly recommend it if a theater near you is showing it.

Justin Verlander, now with the Giants, acknowledged that he was open to a reunion with the Astros, but they were “not in a position” to make an offer.

Rafael Devers’ season-opening slump is now 0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts.

Fanatics released the numbers on their top 20 highest-selling jerseys over the offseason. Not many surprises here.

Most-clicked in our last newsletter: The video of Cam Smith’s emotional call-up to the Astros.

📫 Love The Windup? Check out The Athletic’s other newsletters.

(Top photo: Mike Lang / Sarasota Herald-Tribune / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

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