2025 season: Eliminated Sept. 20
With Atlanta eliminated from the 2025 postseason, let’s take a look at the season that was for the Braves, the questions the team must address this winter and the early outlook for next year.
Read more: MLB offseason previews 2025: What’s next for the White Sox, Pirates, Twins and more?
Things that went right
The return of Ronald Acuña Jr. was a major bright spot in an otherwise disappointing Braves season. The superstar returned from a torn left ACL on May 23 and immediately regained his place among the best hitters in baseball. Granted, the 73-steal player in 2023 has not yet recovered his base-swiping prowess, but the rest of his offensive game was as strong as ever in 2025.
The emergence of Drake Baldwin was another offensive bright spot for Atlanta. The 24-year-old got off to a strong start and remained consistent enough to push his way into a significant role. He cut into Sean Murphy’s time behind the plate for a while, and during the summer, Baldwin assumed more DH responsibilities in place of disappointing veteran Marcell Ozuna. Given Murphy and Baldwin, this is a rare organization with two No. 1 catchers.
On the pitching side, several hurlers had successful seasons interrupted by injury. Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach both delivered excellent results when they weren’t spending time on the 60-day IL. Spencer Strider had some effective starts but wasn’t at his best after two IL stints caused him to make just one start prior to May 20. Grant Holmes was a stabilizing force in the rotation until he landed on the IL in late July. In the end, this potentially elite rotation had too many pitchers who made 20 starts instead of 30.
Things that went wrong
There was no shortage of disappointments for a team that ended a string of seven consecutive postseason appearances with a clunker. The Braves lost their first seven games of 2025 and never logged the necessary winning streak to bring them close to a winning record. Another rough stretch near the beginning of July sealed their fate as the most disappointing team in the National League.
In two years, the Braves went from being the highest-scoring group in baseball to ranking below average in runs scored. And injuries were not a major problem for this group; instead, many players signed to long-term deals fell short of expectations for a second straight year. Michael Harris II picked things up in the second half but arrived at the All-Star break with the lowest OPS (.551) of any qualified player. Ozzie Albies has been on a downward trajectory since he produced 33 homers and 109 RBI in 2023. Austin Riley’s decline has been more gradual, but after being one of the most durable stars in baseball from 2021 to ‘23, he has spent significant time on the IL the past two seasons, and his performances when healthy have been solid rather than excellent.
Meanwhile, Ozuna struggled to be a league-average hitter for most of this season before finally finding his groove in August, long after the team was out of the race. And Jurickson Profar left the team high and dry after signing a three-year deal in the offseason, as he was handed an 80-game PED suspension after playing in just four games.
The pitching woes were primarily caused by injuries, though Strider could not recapture his dominant form from 2022-23. Beyond the previously mentioned injuries to Sale and Schwellenbach, Reynaldo López followed a terrific 2024 season (1.99 ERA) by being shelved due to a shoulder injury after just one start. AJ Smith-Shawver was starting to come into his own before requiring Tommy John surgery. Finally, Raisel Iglesias had been effective throughout his Braves tenure, but he struggled in the first half (4.42 ERA) this season before finding his form after the All-Star break, when the team was already out of the race.
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Offseason outlook
Braves president Alex Anthopoulos has been aggressive in signing his young players to long-term deals, which means most of this team’s underachieving lineup will return next year. Murphy and Baldwin will continue to give Atlanta one of the deepest catching duos in baseball, while Matt Olson and Riley will handle the corner infield spots. Albies will still be the second baseman. Nick Allen plays excellent defense at shortstop but is usually overmatched at the plate and profiles as more of a backup player, which was likely the reason Ha-Seong Kim was claimed on waivers from the Rays on Sept. 1.
The outfield trio is also set. Acuña is the most important player on the roster. He will play right field, while Profar will work in left, and Harris will patrol center. In the second half, Profar returned to the form that resulted in an .839 OPS with the Padres in 2024. Harris fields his position well and showed with a late-season surge that he still has premium plate skills. But the Braves’ DH spot is wide open, with Ozuna heading to free agency.
With better injury luck, the Braves could have an excellent rotation. Strider, Sale and Schwellenbach all have ace potential and are under contract for 2026. López and Holmes are the preferred options for the fourth and fifth spots, but they will need to show in spring training that they’re past the injuries that ended their 2025 seasons early. Bryce Elder can eat innings when called upon, and Joey Wentz showed improvement in the second half of this season. Prospect Hurston Waldrep will also receive major consideration after he was outstanding in a late-season audition.
Rebuilding the relief corps will be a major offseason priority. Notably, Iglesias is headed to free agency. There are some useful arms who are under contract for next year, including Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee. Joe Jiménez could be an asset after having his 2025 campaign ruined by offseason knee surgery. Adding an established closer would go a long way toward making this group a strength rather than a weakness.
Prospects on the horizon
After years of operating in win-now mode, the Braves understandably have one of baseball’s weakest prospect groups. Their only highly regarded prospect is Cam Caminiti, a 2024 first-round pick who recently turned 19 and won’t reach the majors for at least a couple of years.
Although they aren’t expected to be stars, there are, however, several Atlanta prospects who either debuted this season or have that milestone on the horizon. That group consists of Waldrep, Didier Fuentes, JR Ritchie and Drue Hackenberg. After his success with the Braves in the second half, Waldrep has moved to the front of that list.
Nacho Alvarez Jr. is the one minor-league hitter to note. He has had a couple cups of coffee with the Braves but has thus far looked overmatched. That said, he has plus speed and has shown a strong ability to get on base in the minors.
Goals for 2026
Atlanta’s front office has clear intentions to get this group back into contention in a hurry. And the Braves should be able to make that happen, as they have a deep group of talented veterans under contract. Reversing the two-year declines from Harris, Albies and Riley will be key to sparking the offense. Finding a bullpen anchor might be the biggest offseason task for Anthopoulos, and there figure to be plenty of options in free agency, including Robert Suarez, Devin Williams, Ryan Helsley and Luke Weaver.
In the NL East, the Braves won’t have an easy time surpassing the Mets and Phillies, who have talented rosters and deep pockets. But they could make it happen by regaining their offensive stature from two years ago, which feels possible given that many of their key hitters are still in the primes of their careers.
Fantasy focus
Fantasy managers will be excited to use valuable draft picks on several Braves. Acuña will be a first-round pick in most leagues and could become a top-five selection by making it known that he wants to regain his baserunning aggressiveness. Riley, Olson, Sale, Schwellenbach and Strider will all be selected in the range of Rounds 4-6. In the second half of drafts, some managers will take a chance on bounce-back years from Profar, Albies or Harris, and some will consider Baldwin and Murphy as inexpensive catching options.
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