By: TJ Hartnett

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

For most of 2019 the Atlanta Braves’ bullpen has shouldered most of the criticism for the team.

Braves Country has clamored for relief help for months, decrying that Craig Kimbrel signed elsewhere when the Braves really needed him.

Despite the fact that the Braves have had one of the top bullpens in the National League since June 1^st, the idea that the relief corps is struggling has continued, but that notion is starting to shift.

Max Fried hit the 10-day IL with an injury last week and it started off a chain reaction that has exposed the Braves’ actual need: depth of starting pitching.

With prospects coming out of their ears, this might sound crazy, but guys the Braves were counting on to be reliable this season – namely Mike Foltynewicz, Kevin Gausman, and to a lesser extent Sean Newcomb – have been anything but.

Even with the injuries and poor showings by those three, the Braves have roared to the top of the NL East behind a stellar season from Mike Soroka, consistently good outings by Max Fried, a return to form by Julio Teheran, and the recent addition of Dallas Keuchel.

But after Fried went down, the Braves starting plugging holes with pieces that haven’t been up to snuff.

Bryce Wilson and Kyle Wright are talented pitchers and may very well still be huge parts of Atlanta’s future, but they haven’t been able to perform at the level that a first-place team needs them to. Certainly not Wright, who couldn’t make it out of the 3^rd inning in his start against the Washington Nationals on Thursday.

And that’s the biggest sign that the Braves don’t have the depth they need in the rotation: Going into a four-game series against the team directly under them in the standings (and a scorching hot team to boot), the Braves pitched an unproven rookie in the first game and turned to Gausman and his 6.21 ERA to prevent a second straight series loss in game four (that previous series loss, to the Brewers, came ominously after Fried hit the IL and was Atlanta’s first series loss since the first week in June).

The Braves have just about a week and a half before the trade deadline (remember: starting this year, July 31^st is the ONLY trade deadline). Gausman and Folty might turn things around, but Alex Anthopoulos can’t bet the whole season on that.

Atlanta needs to start wheeling and dealing for rotation help or – even if they manage to hold on to their NL East lead – they’ll get eaten alive in the playoffs, again, probably by the Dodgers, again.

Marcus Stroman, Zack Greinke, Trevor Bauer, Zach Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner; these are all potentially available pitchers that could make a difference in Atlanta’s fortunes.

They don’t need to go out and try to pick up the most dominant ace in the history of the game, but they need reliability on the mound every turn through.

It’s always stress-inducing to give up prospects. No one wants to overpay, but the price for the kind of pitcher the Braves need to succeed in the postseason is going to be steep.

That’s okay. The time of considering the future is in the past. The Braves have a chance to win in the here and now, but only if they act.

The comfortable lead the Braves carved out for themselves is getting less comfortable, especially over the weekend during their series against Washington.

Atlanta needs to arm itself (pun very much intended) in order to keep some distance between themselves and the Nationals (and Phillies, who are still playing above .500 with a dangerous lineup).