The Braves are just six weeks away from Opening Day, with Spring Training kicking off yesterday in North Port, Florida. It’s the most exciting time of the year for baseball fans, but nobody is more glad to be back than a Braves team that is eager to prove themselves once again after a season in which they were absolutely dismantled by injuries.
However, while key pieces returning undoubtedly give the 2025 team a much more promising outlook, there are still a plethora of concerns that could come back and bite the Braves this season. How Atlanta responds to these questions will ultimately determine their success.
Can the Braves rotation replicate historic success?
With the Braves losing Max Fried and Charlie Morton, they are putting a ton of faith in their horses from a year ago replicating success that may not necessarily be achievable.
Chris Sale went from not being healthy for a half-decade to having the best season of his career, winning the NL Triple Crown on the way to his first Cy Young award. Similarly, Reynaldo Lopez went from reliever to one of the best starting pitchers in the National League and may have even challenged his teammate for the Cy Young award had he stayed healthy the entire season.
It really shouldn’t have to be said, but the odds Sale or Lopez replicate their success from a year ago is about one percent, and that might be generous. So the real question is, can the other arms make up the difference?
A full season of Spencer Schwellenbach should be fun to watch. He emerged as a frontline starter towards the end of last season and was pitching as well as anyone in baseball. Then, of course, Spencer Strider’s highly anticipated return shouldn’t have to wait much longer. He’s expected to be back before the end of April, and when fully healthy, there might not be a more explosive arm in the game.
I also don’t want to leave out Grant Holmes, who I genuinely believe could be an upgrade over Charlie Morton. Holmes was splendid in a multitude of roles last year, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone if he’s talked about as one of the best fifth starters in the game by season’s end.
Which version of stars will the Braves get?
The Braves two best players — Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. — are coming off season-ending injuries from a year ago. All reports have been positive to this point, but you never really know anything until they are thrust into live action.
We saw first-hand how difficult it was for Ronald Acuña Jr. to come back from his first ACL injury. He was a shell of himself in 2022, never fully trusting the knee. Then, in 2023, he won the NL MVP in historic fashion, becoming the first player ever to record 40 homers and 70 steals. Is that the version of Ronald Acuña Jr. that will return this season?
Spencer Strider’s return should be a little more cut and dry. Pitchers these days can sometimes come back from torn UCLs even stronger than they were before. It may take a month or two before he’s at his best, but as long as he stays healthy, there’s little doubt he’ll return to being one of the best strikeout pitchers in the game.
Who’s the Braves next great success story?
Over the last seven years, the Braves have had no shortage of incredible success stories. From a guy coming over from Indy Ball and becoming a postseason hero in Tyler Matzek to the number of rookies that have gone on to become stars, nobody has an eye for talent quite like Alex Anthopoulos and the Atlanta Braves.
That’ll need to be the case again in 2025 if the Braves want to win the division, especially when it comes to the pitching staff. The rotation, while still very good, has depth concerns, and the bullpen will be relying on a number of internal candidates to cover innings that were handled by A.J. Minter and Joe Jimenez last season.
Whether it’s a guy like Ian Anderson re-emerging, a prospect making the jump to the majors, or perhaps a name nobody is even considering right now, the Braves need production from some unexpected places to reach their ultimate goal of winning the World Series in 2025.
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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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