2024 Recap
Record: 89-73, 2nd in NL East, Eliminated in NLWS
The 2024 season had a nightmarish start for the Braves. Ace Spencer Strider was lost for the season during his second start due to a bone fragment in his UCL, reigning MVP Ronald Acuña never got going and was lost to an ACL injury (the second in the past four seasons), catcher Sean Murphy didn't make it through opening day before suffering an oblique injury.
On top of this, stars like Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Michael Harris II, and Ozzie Albies regressed from their 2023 performances.
Despite all this, the team still managed to win 89 games, an accomplishment that will be overshadowed by their recent dominance. The team was driven by a dominant pitching staff (including Chris Sale's Cy Young Season) and an offense powered by DH Marcell Ozuna who finished 4th in MVP voting.
Despite their overachieving, the Braves couldn't recreate their 2021 magic and were swept in the wildcard round 2-0 by a dangerous Padres team.
2025 Outlook
Key Additions:
- Bryan De La Cruz (1 year, $860k
- Nick Allen (Trade with Athletics)
Key Departures:
- Charlie Morton, SP (Free Agency)
- Max Fried, SP (Free Agency)
- AJ Minter, RP (Free Agency)
- Gio Urshela, IF (Free Agency)
- Travis d'Arnaud (Declined Club Option)
- Jorge Soler, COF/DH (Trade with Angels)
The Braves front office is one of the best in the sport their offensive core -- Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris II, and Matt Olson -- is locked up for the foreseeable future. However, all of these players had a down year and/or dealt with injuries in 2024 begging the question of which Braves offense will we see in 2025 -- the historic 2023 juggernaut or the underwhelming 2024 version.
The Braves strong rotation will be returning Cy Young winner Chris Sale, breakout pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, and star Spencer Strider (eventually), but will have to fill the voids left by Max Fried (174 IP) and Charlie Morton (165 IP). The Braves have faith in their young pitchers, but those are two big shoes to fill. The bullpen, another strength, remains largely the same.
Overall, the Braves have been a non-factor this offseason and will be relying mostly on bounce-back seasons from their stars to improve upon their 2024 campaign. Bryan De La Cruz will probably take the Jorge Soler role on the team, and the Braves will rely on their young pitchers to replace the holes created by the departure of Max Fried and Charlie Morton.
Given their track record, its hard to bet against the Braves front office, but relying on unproven starters to replace proven veterans like Max Fried and Charlie Morton is unnerving. The offense should be better, but the biggest thing for the Braves heading into 2025 is....
X-Factor: Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr.'s return from Injury
The Braves managed to win the World Series in 2021 despite losing Acuña to his first ACL injury, but at the end of the day, this Braves team will only go as far as their stars take them. It's common for players to struggle when they first return from an ACL injury (Acuña included), and it is fair to wonder how much production the Braves can rely on from a player who relies on their athleticism and struggled after his first ACL injury.
Strider, on the other hand, had his second major elbow surgery in the last five years and should return this summer. Depending on how many rehab starts Strider gets, he might have some rust as he hasn't pitched consistently since the end of the 2023 season (excluding 2024 spring training).
Offseason Grade and Prediction
While the Braves need their stars to bounce back and play to the back of their baseball card, they also need Chris Sale and Marcel Ozuna to have a repeat of their 2024 seasons if they want to contend in a loaded NL. Sale will be entering his age 36 season, and last year pitched 177 innings (his most since 2017) and made more than 20 starts for the first time since 2019. Ozuna greatly outperformed his career averages and will be 34 next season.
Outside of Sale, the rotation is full of question marks as well. Reynaldo Lopez only pitched 135 innings last year and Strider is returning from injury. Spencer Schwellenbach was a nice surprise last year but his 2024 workload (124 IP) was nearly double his previous professional high (65). While Strider works to return from injury, the last two rotation spots will probably be decided in Spring Training.
Without any offseason additions (outside of a reclamation project/platoon player), the Braves are betting big on the personnel already in the organization. No flashy signings and no shrewd trades to address the question marks across the roster, especially in the starting rotation. They didn't necessarily have to pursue Corbin Burnes or resign Max Fried, but resigning Charlie Morton or adding Yusei Kikuchi/Nathan Eovaldi/Sean Manaea would've added a proven veteran on a shorter commitment to a rotation filled with question marks.
Offseason Grade: D
2025 Prediction: 3rd in the NL East, Missed Playoffs
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