I remember watching a Spring Training game at the Braves' complex way back in March. And I think about the vibes I got from that game, and how excited all the Braves fans were for this season. There was an interview with newly-acquired Jurickson Profar, who was happy to be out of San Diego and was ready to compete some more, there was all this talk about the team's depth and versatility. It was looking like they'd be a favorite to overtake the Phillies and battle the Mets for the top.
That's...not exactly what happened. Which makes it all the more astonishing that it all looked so good heading into the year.
Three hitters made more than 150 games, and of the three, only one of them had a WAR higher than 3. No pitchers made all 32 starts, and the one with the most innings still had a 5.30 ERA. The team's two Cy Young candidates in June were both injured by August. Acuna was once again the magic hat. The guy who won Rookie of the Year is the kind of player that makes their highest-paid-catcher-in-baseball completely obsolete. And by the time the team actually got things going, it was September, and they were already out of contention. Everything that could go wrong 100% did this year, resulting in a 4th place finish below .500, and the end of the Brian Snitker era in Atlanta. The Braves will no doubt be back next year, with former shortstop Walt Weiss taking up the mantle of manager, and many injured players set to return at peak capacity. But this was a brutal blow to a team that had consistently one of the best in the game since 2019.
Profar is the best summation of what went wrong. He came off his best season to date, an All-Star year with San Diego, and was primed to play a similar role with this Braves team. Then right as the season began, Profar tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, putting his entire 2024 comeback into a different light, and taking him out for the majority of the season. In his place, the Braves had to throw people like Alex Verdugo, Bryan de la Cruz and Stuart Fairchild into left, which did not work at all. Profar eventually returned to play 80 games this year, and hit .245 with 14 homers and 43 RBIs, which was decent, but not quite what was advertised.
2026 Prediction: Profar becomes Robinson Cano in New York- will be fine, but every good stretch will come with that question mark. Eventually it'll become too much for the Braves to bear, but perhaps not until 2027.
Sean Murphy began the year as the Braves' total catching option, after Travis d'Arnaud left in free agency, and ended the year...as Travis d'Arnaud, an overpaid burden blocking a younger and better catcher. Murphy was actually pretty good this year, with 16 homers and 45 RBIs in 94 games, plus some excellent defense, but he's a .199 hitter now. And when you've got Drake Baldwin, who's better at contact work even at the expense of the defense, you're gonna stand out in the wrong ways.
2026 Prediction: Is traded pre-season. Does decently but doesn't match 2023.
With Sale and Schwellenbach missing time, Strider coming in late, Lopez missing the whole season and Holmes bowing out late, Bryce Elder was the Braves' longest-standing starter, despite multiple attempts to demote him or move him to the bullpen. All in all, Elder's season wasn't great, as he posted a 5.30 ERA, and an 8-11 record, but as a rare Braves starter to stay healthy all year, Elder was in high demand all season and needed to be in every fifth day, due to lack of other options for the most part.
2026 Prediction: Either his arm gives out again or he actually figures his shit out and has a bounce-back full season.
With all the vacancies and injuries, this also meant there was a serious demand for 10-year minor league veteran Grant Holmes, who'd been waiting for this moment for a while. Holmes had some MLB appearances last season, but as a swingman. Now there were rotation spots open, and Holmes responded with one of the best Braves pitching seasons of the year. The 29-year-old had a 3.99 ERA with 123 Ks, despite a 4-9 record due to the diluted lineup. Ultimately he'd also join the field of several injured Braves starters in August.
2026 Prediction: Once he's back, he may not have much of a chance to start, so back to long relief and swing roles.
The lack of starting options also meant it was time for oft-injured prospect A.J. Smith-Shawver to try again for his case at a permanent spot. In 9 starts he went 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA and 42 Ks, then, once again, the injuries struck.
2026 Prediction: He does this again and the Braves are gonna get tired of it. If he gets hurt again he's getting cut.
As good as Raisel Iglesias can be in the ninth, sometimes he has a season or two where things kinda unravel and he needs to be humbled a bit, and that was 2025 for the veteran closer. Despite 29 saves and 73 Ks, his 3.21 ERA was higher than usual, and accounted for a lot of blown opportunities. After how comparably untouchable he's been since coming to Atlanta, it was a wake-up call for all involved parties. Thankfully it didn't seem to scare the Braves too much, as Iglesias is back for 2026.
2026 Prediction: Now that that's out of his system, 30+ saves and a 2 ERA again.
Similarly, since coming over from Colorado, Pierce Johnson has become one of the Braves' most reliable relief pieces period. And since Joe Jimenez and A.J. Minter were not in the picture this year, he got even more responsibility placed upon him, which I think he did well with. Johnson, in 59 innings, had a 3.05 ERA, a 1.1 WAR [his highest since 2021], and 59 Ks.
2026 Prediction: A slight downturn in a mid-level market [Reds? D-Backs? Rangers?].
I think the Braves fans had to be pretty disappointed when there'd been all this pomp and circumstance over a game at Bristol Motor Speedway, which was already a logistical and managerial disaster, and they don't even get the matchup they were promised. Cause they went in with the idea that it'd be Chase Burns vs. Spencer Strider, which sounds really cool, and then it rains halfway through the first inning, so they have to pick it up the following day, without either starter, and it becomes Brent Suter vs. Hurston Waldrep. That's not as cool. Waldrep had been called up as a swing option, with both Carlos Carrasco and Erick Fedde as rotation options, and was handed the ball after Austin Cox couldn't cut it. But Waldrep, the 23-year-old who tried to spin a similar 2024 opportunity into a run only to get hurt quickly into it, turned this into a pitch for long-term supremacy, and got the win, only allowing 3 hits and an earned run, and striking out 4. Waldrep would be one of the best pitchers of the Braves' second half, going 6-1 with a 2.88 ERA and 55 Ks in 10 starts.
2026 Prediction: Opening Day rotation, stays in there all year. Hopefully the injury bug doesn't hit, cause I think they've got something here.
Nacho Alvarez Jr. was supposed to factor into 2025 as a backup infielder and utility guy, but then he got hurt pre-season and Nick Allen played that role anyhow. But, of course, Austin Riley gets hurt midyear, and once Alvarez got healthy he got third for a while. In 58 games he only hit .234 with 15 RBIs, but his defense was a big part of the Braves' late-season swell.
2026 Prediction: More prominent backup work, though he will have to contend with Mauricio Dubon on that bench.
As discussed, the Braves worked overtime after the trade deadline to add anyone they could who was DFA'd, needing all the help they could get, and managed to snag pieces like Erick Fedde, Joey Wentz, Brett Wisely, Jake Fraley, Alexis Diaz and Dane Dunning. The cleverest one was convincing the Rays to give up Ha-Seong Kim, who'd been injured all year and wasn't helping once he got healthy. Once Kim got to the Braves, he dominated, hitting .253 in 24 games with 3 homers and 12 RBIs, plus some excellent defense. This did a lot to up Kim's free agency case for this year.
2026 Prediction: Three-year deal with a competitor, has his best season to date and gets an ASG nod.
The other cool move the Braves made after the deadline was bringing back Charlie Morton to round out his career. Morton had a very rocky season, going from punchline to contender with the O's and then the opposite with the Tigers, but the Braves knew he needed to end his career with dignity, so they brought him back in late September. The 41-year-old made one last start, and in an inning an a third, gave up 2 hits but no runs, and notched his last strikeout. Then exited to a standing o in the place he'd come up nearly 2 decades ago. That's what everybody wants, I think.
Coming Tomorrow- The Brewers were closer than ever to a World Series, and they arguably have a team that can get them back.
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