Looking back at the Braves 2021 World Series team, there aren’t many familiar faces left in Atlanta.
Dansby Swanson and Freddie Freeman walked in free agency. The entire outfield — Adam Duvall, Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, and Jorge Soler — will be playing in different threads. Wild Bill Contreras was a piece of a trade that landed Sean Murphy in Atlanta.
Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and A.J. Minter are the only healthy pitchers that are still around from that championship team.
Dylan Lee and Tyler Matzek are on the roster but are recovering from major injuries. The rest either left in free agency or were traded away. One name that hasn’t been brought up in a while is Ian Anderson.
He hasn’t been the same guy since that 2021 campaign. Anderson was so bad last season that the Braves eventually optioned him to Gwinnett, and he never returned.
The hope was for him to wipe the slate clean and get his mentals right, but it was more than just intangible struggles. He was shut down in 2022 with an oblique injury and then hit the IL last season with an elbow injury, eventually needing Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL.
During the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Alex Anthopoulos revealed the expected timeline for Anderson to return to the mound around June.
#Braves RHP Ian Anderson's timetable to return from Tommy John surgery is around June according to Alex Anthopoulos. Obviously, the rehab assignment and avoiding any setbacks play a significant role in when exactly Anderson could rejoin the Atlanta rotation.
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) December 3, 2023
Ian Anderson was one of the most promising young arms in the league and a pivotal piece of the Braves World Series run in 2021. He’s a two-pitch pitcher, but he dominated in Game 3 against the Astros, tossing five shutout innings.
We might never see him toe the rubber for the Braves again, but the club isn’t giving up on him just yet as they have with Kyle Wright and Michael Soroka.
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David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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