When the Atlanta Braves made almost no major moves in the offseason, after having their National League East title streak end and losing starting pitchers Max Fried and Charlie Morton to free agency, some fans expressed frustration.

But returning players from the 2024 Braves were not concerned. They knew they still had a power-laden lineup, one that was historically good in 2023 before it was diminished by injuries last season. They have a rotation led by Chris Sale, who won the Cy Young Award in his first season in Atlanta, with Spencer Strider expected back by late April.

The Braves didn’t win the division last season for the first time since 2017, but still made the playoffs despite a staggering array of injuries that landed five players from their Opening Day lineup — plus Strider, their 2024 Opening Day starter — on the IL for two months or more, including season-ending injuries for Strider in April and Ronald Acuña Jr. in May.

Bold prediction

Strider will pick up where he left off in 2023 when he led the majors with 20 wins and 281 strikeouts. The Braves won’t overwork him coming back from internal brace elbow surgery, but Strider and Sale will be baseball’s best 1-2 starter combination and lead a potentially devastating playoff rotation.

Projected lineup

He had a career season at age 31 with San Diego and parlayed that into a three-year, $42 million deal with the Braves, who believe adjustments to his swing before last season will allow him to keep his career on its current trajectory.

After playing all but four games during 2021-2023 while averaging 36 homers and 99 RBIs, Riley was limited to 110 games (19 homers, 46 RBIs) last season by a strained side in May and a season-ending broken hand in August. He’s healthy now.

The 2023 MLB homer and RBIs leader had a career-worst slump through the first 99 games in 2024. He flipped the proverbial switch for 16 homers, 54 RBIs and a .949 OPS in the final 63 games, and hopes he learned enough to adjust quicker next time.

He revived his career the past two seasons, hitting .289 with 79 homers and 204 RBIs, with a .916 OPS and 148 OPS+. Now, “Big Bear” is 34 and in a contract option year, surely hoping to land one more multiyear deal.

A severe hamstring strain sidelined him for two months in 2024, and a back strain slowed him in 2023. Now Harris, a Gold Glove-caliber defender, hopes to demonstrate to himself and everyone else what he can do in a full, healthy season.

The 5-foot-7 sparkplug is one of baseball’s best-hitting second basemen when healthy. But Albies has played as many as 100 games just once in the past three seasons due to injuries including a fractured toe and fractured wrist in 2024.

Baldwin’s prospect status soared after his eye-opening performance following a midseason 2024 promotion to Triple A. With Sean Murphy starting the season on the IL with a fractured rib, Baldwin now gets to prove he’s ready for the big stage.

He made the All-Star team in 2023, but since right before the break that year, Arcia has been statistically one of the two or three worst hitters in baseball. Nick Allen could get playing time if that continues.

His first season with the Braves was erratic, and they signed Profar rather than give left field to Kelenic. He’ll likely platoon in right field with offseason pickup Bryan De La Cruz until Acuña returns, then Kelenic’s outlook is uncertain.

Projected rotation

After his healthiest season in six years and the best overall performance of his storied career, Sale, who turns 36 this month, followed the same offseason program he introduced the previous winter and has been fit and sharp all spring.

Skeptics questioned if López could or would stay in the rotation last season after a few years in the bullpen. He did, posting a 1.99 ERA in 26 games (25 starts). But were forearm and shoulder issues after the All-Star break a harbinger?

A revelation as a rookie, the former college shortstop arrived from Double A without a full season as a starting pitcher at any level. He posted a 3.35 ERA in 21 starts and went 4-1 with a 2.28 ERA vs. division opponents.

It was a storybook season for Holmes, who spent a decade in the minors with multiple organizations before being called up in 2024 by the Braves and filling a vital need, first in the rotation and later the bullpen. 

AJ Smith-Shawver: Still just 22 and a rookie after six MLB starts in the past two seasons. Made big strides with command (18 strikeouts and three walks entering his final spring appearance Friday) to take the fifth spot to begin the season.

Projected top relievers

Entering the final year of his contract, Iglesias is coming off a career-best season with a 1.95 ERA at age 34, including a 30-game stretch with no earned runs, an .089 opponents’ average and 43 strikeouts with five walks.

He threw curveballs more frequently (72 percent) than any major leaguer last season, often eschewing his plus fastball because the curve was so effective. He’ll likely handle primary set-up duties while Joe Jiménez rehabs from knee surgery most of the season. 

The primary lefty setup role has big shoes to fill with former mainstay A.J. Minter now a New York Met. Bummer has first dibs on filling it. His stingy hard-hit rate and other secondary numbers in 2024 indicated he was unusually unlucky.

How the Braves stack up

“Hope” is from Stephen J. Nesbitt’s annual Hope-O-Meter fan optimism survey. “Farm” is from Keith Law’s farm system rankings. “Bats” and “arms” are from Jim Bowden’s ranking of Opening Day lineups and rotations. “PWR” is from The Athletic’s preseason power rankings. Team projections come from Austin Mock, while Jake Ciely provided player projections.

(Photo of Chris Sale: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

David O’Brien is a senior writer covering the Atlanta Braves for The Athletic. He previously covered the Braves for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and covered the Marlins for eight seasons, including the 1997 World Series championship. He is a two-time winner of the NSMA Georgia Sportswriter of the Year award. Follow David on Twitter @DOBrienATL