After An Injury Filled Year, Can Braves Battle For NL East?

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It is almost hard to believe that this team that won a World Series just a few years ago, had the Cy Young two years ago, and an annual MVP candidate, ended up being one of the worst ten teams in baseball last year. However, that’s exactly what happened to the Atlanta Braves. After two seasons of virtually everyone being injured, they enter this year healthy and with a chance to do some damage.

Last year recap: 

Ronald Acuna Jr., 49 games. Austin Riley, 102 games. Chris Sale has just 21 starts (still more than he made in three of his final seasons in Boston, but not the ideal follow-up to 2024). Spencer Strider made 23 starts. Ozzie Albies played almost the whole season, but he fractured a bone in his hand in September as well, leading to a fitting end for the season. The point, as you probably guessed, is that this was a really injury-heavy season for the Braves. That did give some guys a chance to play a lot more and could lead to development that pays off this season. Aside from that, though, the Braves ended in fourth place in the division and looked bad most of the year. 

Offseason moves:

The biggest move was getting healthy. Getting key players back and establishing a consistent routine for their team were the most important aspects for them this year. They didn’t really do a ton of things outside of that, but they did make one major change. They added to their bench, which seemed to be the downfall of the team at least last year. 

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 11:  Ronald Acuña Jr. #13 and Matt Olson #28 of the Atlanta Braves celebrate their win after the game between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets at Citi Field on Saturday, May 11, 2024 in New York, New York. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Roster:

Their shortstop, Ha-Seong Kim, who they re-signed, tore a finger, which means he is out for a couple of months, but could be here for the start of the season. Spencer Schwellenbach, one of their starters, is out for a couple of months due to bone spurs in his elbow. Sean Murphy, their catcher, will be out as well.  So… the injury bug isn’t quite gone from Atlanta. Depth is important, and they do have more of that than last year. I’m interested to see if guys can have bounce-back years. Acuna is really good and if he returns to what he was before his ACL injury, the Braves have the middle-of-the-order guy that they need. 

Betting outlook:

There are a few teams that are going to be harder to evaluate than Atlanta. The Braves have quality pieces on their roster, but so many are returning from injury that you have to wonder if they will make an impact right away. My concern is that a slow start would burn any over ticket. However, if they get off to a faster start, and then they start adding more players to the rotation and lineup, you’re going to get the over to cash. I’m not overly confident in taking them to get to 88 wins, though. They are still in a tough division, and Strider had a down year last year. I’d lean to the under, but ultimately won’t play them either way. 

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