Some recent roster moves have painted a much clearer picture of what the Atlanta Braves’ roster will look like on Opening Day.

The Atlanta Braves made a series of roster moves over the last week that have brought their Opening Day roster into view. Barring an injury, the bullpen appears to be set, while the final spot in the rotation is down to a competition of two. Below is our latest projection for the Opening Day roster. If missed the last version, you can find it here.

Starting Pitchers (5): Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Chris Sale, Charlie Morton, Reynaldo Lopez

Others: Bryce Elder

The Braves optioned AJ Smith-Shawver to Triple-A on Monday. They have six starters remaining in camp, including Reynaldo Lopez and Bryce Elder, who appear to be competing for the final rotation spot. Barring a sudden change, it appears that the job will go to Lopez to start the season.

Lopez is in the process of being stretched out and if the Braves are intent on seeing him as a starter, doing so to start the season would be the easiest way forward, because it would be more difficult to put him in the bullpen and then try to stretch him out again. One complicated part of this is that the Braves will have some off days early in the season and technically won’t need a fifth starter the first time through the rotation. Still, they could go ahead and pitch Lopez anyway, which would provide extra days off for the rest of the rotation. Or, he could be pressed into duty if an early start goes sideways, too.

Bullpen (8): Raisel Iglesias, A.J. Minter, Pierce Johnson, Joe Jimenez, Aaron Bummer, Tyler Matzek, Dylan Lee, Jackson Stephens

Atlanta’s bullpen appears to be largely set if no injuries occur between now and Opening Day. The Braves reassigned Ken Giles to minor league camp earlier this week and optioned lefty Ray Kerr to Triple-A. That appears to be good news for Dylan Lee, who slides into the bullpen picture.

There is still a couple of things to keep an eye on. Tyler Matzek is working his way back from Tommy John Surgery and experienced some soreness in his side. He threw a side session on Monday and reported no issues, but it is worth monitoring. Dylan Lee’s velocity has also been down from his previous “normal,” he may still be recovering from last season’s shoulder woes, and he does have option years remaining. It’s possible that these factors result in him starting the season in Triple-A or on the Injured List, but the Braves haven’t yet seen fit to rule him out. Should Lee or Matzek need to start the season on the Injured List, it would open the door for Giles, Kerr or someone else.

Lopez is also a bit of a wild card here. If Atlanta elected to put him the bullpen to start, that might not mean automatically that Elder would make the Opening Day roster. Since the Braves won’t need a fifth starter early, they could carry an extra reliever. The question under this scenario would be whether they could keep Lopez stretched out enough to make the start when the fifth spot is needed or would they simply turn to Elder.

Catchers (2): Travis d’Arnaud, Sean Murphy

Others: Chadwick Tromp*

Chadwick Tromp is waiting in the wings should anything happen to either Sean Murphy or Travis d’Arnaud.

Infielders (5): Ozzie Albies, Orlando Arcia, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, David Fletcher*

Others: Luke Williams*, Luis Guillorme

While the pitching staff appears to be coming together, there are still questions to be answered on the bench. I will admit that I don’t have a good feel for what direction the Braves might go in here, and I still think it is possible that a new name gets added to the mix as teams start to pare down their rosters. (That also applies to the bullpen, but the Braves have more familiarity with guys like Lee and Matzek than they do with their bench options.)

With that in mind, I decided to go with a different look for this roster projection. Luis Guillorme signed a major league contract with the club, but has only appeared in three spring games. He’s reportedly dealing with some sort of leg injury and his situation could be similar to that of Jordan Luplow a year ago. Guillorme returned to the field Tuesday and started at shortstop.

The Braves spent a large portion of the 2023 season with just one backup infielder. With that in mind, I am giving the spot to David Fletcher this time around. Fletcher would be a better option to fill in at shortstop behind Orlando Arcia and has played all over the infield during the spring. He’s also 9-for-25 at the plate with two walks and just one strikeout. Luke Williams has also seen a lot of action and probably shouldn’t be completely dismissed either.

Outfielders (5): Ronald Acuña Jr, Michael Harris II, Jarred Kelenic, Forrest Wall, Jordan Luplow*,

DH (1): Marcell Ozuna

Others: Eli White*

Carrying just one extra infielder would clear up an issue in the outfield. Forrest Wall has had a good spring and would be an ideal fit to carry as a pinch runner. However, he hits left handed and isn’t a great fit to pair with Jarred Kelenic in left if needed. That role could be filled by Luplow, who could play either corner and serve as a right-handed bat off the bench. (It should be worth noting, though, that Luplow has a sub-.300 xwOBA against lefties in each of the last three seasons, totaling nearly 300 PAs, so this wouldn’t exactly be a brilliant platoon solution at this point.) Eli White has had a good spring as well and would be the other option to serve as a right-handed outfield complement. He also has an option remaining and could serve as depth at Gwinnett until needed. That said, White’s skillset mirrors Wall’s, and it may be somewhat redundant to have both of them on the roster at the same time.

Atlanta optioned J.P. Martinez to Gwinnett last week where he is expected to play every day. This is another area where a more experienced option could emerge as other teams start to pare down their rosters.