A.J. Minter declared that the 2024 season was “World Series or bust” for the Atlanta Braves before the campaign even started, and it wasn’t hard to see why. The Braves were coming off two straight gut-wrenching NLDS losses against their division rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies, despite arguably having MLB’s most talented roster in each of those two seasons. Given the talent Atlanta possessed, why not say you should win the World Series?
Well, Minter’s “World Series or bust” mindset backfired in record time. Sean Murphy suffered a serious injury on Opening Day, Spencer Strider was knocked out for the season after just two starts, and Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered a season-ending injury not too long after.
The only Braves position players to play more than 135 regular season games were Marcell Ozuna, Matt Olson, and Orlando Arcia. Their only pitcher to make 30 starts was Charlie Morton. Virtually every key contributor outside of those four players missed at least some time due to injury.
Despite all of that, the Braves still won 89 games and squeaked into the postseason. They failed to win a single postseason game, but just getting there despite all of the injuries was an accomplishment.
Now, with the roster healthier, the Braves have lofty expectations again ahead of the 2025 campaign. Instead of calling this season “World Series or bust,” though, Olson simply said “We are not going to be making any statements.”
A.J. Minter began last spring by saying it was “World Series or bust” for Atlanta.
The same confidence still there?
Matt Olson chuckled before answering.
“The confidence is still there,” he said. “We are not going to be making any statements.”
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) February 12, 2025
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Did Minter curse the season? He certainly did not, but just about everything went wrong after he made that proclamation, so you can’t fault Olson for not following in Minter’s footsteps. Baseball is a very superstitious sport, after all.
While Olson didn’t say outright that this season is World Series or bust, the fact that he said “the confidence is still there” suggests he does believe this team is capable of winning the World Series. That belief is absolutely correct.
The Braves have had an underwhelming offseason, losing key contributors like Minter, Morton, Max Fried, Travis d’Arnaud, and Jorge Soler. They even lost Joe Jimenez for potentially the entire 2025 campaign due to injury. The only key addition made thus far has been Jurickson Profar.
Despite that, Atlanta’s roster is absolutely loaded, especially when guys like Strider and Acuña return from their injuries. Sean Murphy, one of the best catchers in the league when healthy, will probably hit eighth in Atlanta’s stacked lineup when Acuña is healthy. The Braves rotation featuring a healthy Strider, reigning NL Cy Young award winner Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, and Spencer Schwellenbach is elite. The Braves bullpen, led by Raisel Iglesias, is also quite potent.
This Braves team, when healthy, doesn’t really have a clear weakness. Olson not saying what Minter did ahead of an injury-ravaged season has to have Braves fans feeling at least a little more confident that the team will stay healthy giving them the best chance to live up to their World Series potential.
