And for the Braves' Next Trick...

 

So. After 26 years, the Atlanta Braves finally won another World Series ring, on the backs of a team that had come up from third and bulked up at the deadline. 

...Now what?

On one hand, this is a Braves team that has a lot of the same drive as the 2021 squad, and kept Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario after grabbing them in July. But at the same time, this is the first Braves team in over 10 years without Freddie Freeman, the team will be missing Ronald Acuna Jr. and Mike Soroka for another few months, and compared to teams like the Marlins, Mets and Phillies, the Braves only made a few moves in the offseason. Granted, one of those moves was trading for Matt Olson, who's already off to an excellent start at the plate and gets along super-well with Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley, but even as a defending champion, the Braves are not guaranteed a division this year. Especially considering that before the trade deadline, they weren't even in the conversation.

So how do they make this work? How do they get beyond the Mets and take the division, and possibly the championship, again? 

Well, a lot of this involves repeating what worked in 2021. Hoping that Eddie Rosario's bat comes alive, that Duvall's homers lift the team, and that Austin Riley is as important of a corner piece as he seemed like last year. But a good piece of it is hoping that the moves they made are the right direction. Last night, Kenley Jansen got lit up in a potential save situation, only getting out of the game by the skin of his teeth. Collin McHugh didn't do much better. Could the Braves be taking over from the Phillies as the bullpen pit of the NL East? 

At the same time, you do see growth, and you see guys like Max Fried and Ian Anderson as strong candidates for starts after last season, and you look at new call-ups like Spencer Strider and you think things are looking good. What we haven't seen a lot of because of the earliness of the season is this team's depth, and I think there's a ton of depth hiding here, and it's gonna keep this team from absolutely divebombing under the pressure of this division. Plus, guys nobody really thought about like Orlando Arcia could come into the fold in some big ways. 

It remains to be seen whether or not this team can repeat, but I think they'll be very good. Will 'very good' be enough, though?

Coming Tomorrow- A pitcher who has only been traded, never been completely signed, suiting up for another new team that might be a competitor this year.