{"id":42830,"date":"2025-03-20T15:12:18","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T15:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=42830"},"modified":"2025-03-20T15:12:18","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T15:12:18","slug":"progress-report-atlanta-braves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=42830","title":{"rendered":"Progress report: Atlanta Braves"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<h4>ATLANTA BRAVES<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>2024 finish:<\/strong> 89-73 (2nd in NL East; lost in NL wild-card series)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Manager:<\/strong> Brian Snitker (10th season, 735-582)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Leading the front office:<\/strong> Alex Anthopoulos, president of baseball operations and general manager (8th season)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>DOLLARS AND SENSE<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Largest luxury tax hit:<\/strong> 3B Austin Riley ($21.2 million)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Top returning player(s):<\/strong> DH Marcell Ozuna (4.7 fWAR), 1B Matt Olson (2.6), 3B Austin Riley (2.4)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Top returning starting pitcher(s):<\/strong> LHP Chris Sale (6.4 fWAR), RHP Reynaldo Lopez (3.5), RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (2.6)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Top returning reliever(s):<\/strong> RHP Joe Jimenez (1.8 fWAR), RHP Raisel Iglesias (1.6), LHP Aaron Bummer (1.1)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>ROSTER WATCH<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Key additions:<\/strong> OF Jurickson Profar (free agent), RHP Griffin Canning (trade), LHP Davis Daniel (trade), OF Bryan De La Cruz (free agent), 2B Cavan Biggio (free agent), C Travis d\u2019Arnaud (free agent), SS Nick Allen (trade), RHP Enyel De Los Santos (minors), 1B Garrett Cooper (minors), C Chandler Seagle (minors), RHP Chad Kuhl (minors), LHP Jake Dieman (minors), OF Jake Marisnick (minors), 2B Matthew Batten (minors), RHP Hector Neris (minors).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Key losses:<\/strong> LHP Max Fried (free agent), RHP Charlie Morton (free agent), 3B Gio Urshela (free agent), 2B Whit Merrifield (free agent), RHP John Brebbia (free agent), RHP Jesse Chavez (free agent), LHP A.J. Minter (free agent), OF Adam Duvall (free agent), RHP Luke Jackson (free agent), RHP Jared Johnson (free agent), OF Ramon Laureano (free agent), RHP Huascar Ynoa (free agent), LHP Mitch Farris (trade).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Baseball America top-100 prospect(s):<\/strong> C Drake Baldwin (53), RHP AJ Smith-Shawver (83).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>KEEP AN EYE ON<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>The Braves have been to the playoffs each of the last seven years, winning the World Series in 2021, but injuries played a large role in settling for second place in the NL East and bowing out in the wild-card series in two games at the hands of the Padres. Not only did <strong>Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr.<\/strong> (knee) and <strong>Spencer Strider<\/strong> (elbow) suffer season-ending injuries, 3B <strong>Austin Riley<\/strong> and OF <strong>Michael Harris II<\/strong> both played in just 110 games and 2B <strong>Ozzie Albies<\/strong> played in just 99 games. Strider could return by the end of April and Acu\u00f1a could return in May.<\/li>\n<li>Strider\u2019s return will help offset the loss of LHP <strong>Max Fried<\/strong> to free agency and the Braves have plenty of homegrown options to help replace RHP <strong>Charlie Morton<\/strong>, but a healthy LHP <strong>Chris Sale<\/strong> will make Atlanta a favorite in the NL East. The 35-year-old Sale won a career-high 18 games en route to his first Cy Young award and would have been a bear for the Padres in the NL wild-card series if ailments hadn\u2019t barred the oft-injured ace from the mound.<\/li>\n<li>OF <strong>Jurickson Profar<\/strong> (.839 OPS, 24 HRs) started in the All-Star Game, punctuating a career year that got him paid after he finished 2023 with the worst WAR in the majors. Profar will make $42 million over the next three years, far more than the Padres were willing to match to keep the fan favorite in San Diego.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>PECOTA projection:<\/strong> 92.7 wins<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9247657\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SUT-L-albies-0306.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SUT-L-albies-0306.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 620w,https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SUT-L-albies-0306.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SUT-L-albies-0306.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SUT-L-albies-0306.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SUT-L-albies-0306.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" alt=\"Progress report: Atlanta Braves\" width=\"2000\" data-attachment-id=\"9247657\" data-sizes=\"auto\" \/><figcaption>Atlanta Braves second base Ozzie Albies throws out Toronto Blue Jays Rainer Nunez in the third inning of a spring training baseball game in North Port, Fla., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo\/Gerald Herbert)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4>PECOTA RANKINGS<\/h4>\n<p><em>(As of March 19)<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>92.7 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Atlanta Braves<\/li>\n<li>91.7 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Chicago Cubs<\/li>\n<li>91.3 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 New York Mets<\/li>\n<li>88.9 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Texas Rangers<\/li>\n<li>88.5 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Baltimore Orioles<\/li>\n<li>87.9 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Houston Astros<\/li>\n<li>87.2 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 San Diego Padres<\/li>\n<li>87.1 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Arizona Diamondbacks<\/li>\n<li>86.8 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Minnesota Twins<\/li>\n<li>86.6 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Seattle Mariners<\/li>\n<li>85.8 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Philadelphia Phillies<\/li>\n<li>85.3 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 New York Yankees<\/li>\n<li>85.2 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Toronto Blue Jays<\/li>\n<li>82.3 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Tampa Bay Rays<\/li>\n<li>81.3 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Kansas City Royals<\/li>\n<li>80.3 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Cleveland Guardians<\/li>\n<li>79.9 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Boston Red Sox<\/li>\n<li>79.4 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Milwaukee Brewers<\/li>\n<li>78.5 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Pittsburgh Pirates<\/li>\n<li>78.3 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Detroit Tigers<\/li>\n<li>77.7 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 San Francisco Giants<\/li>\n<li>77.6 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 St. Louis Cardinals<\/li>\n<li>74.7 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Los Angeles Angels<\/li>\n<li>73.9 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Cincinnati Reds<\/li>\n<li>71.9 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Sacramento Athletics<\/li>\n<li>68.5 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Washington Nationals<\/li>\n<li>61.9 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Chicago White Sox<\/li>\n<li>60.2 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Miami Marlins<\/li>\n<li>55.4 wins\u00a0\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0 Colorado Rockies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Originally Published: <time datetime=\"2025-03-20 05:00:38\">March 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM PDT<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sizing up the Atlanta Braves ahead of the 2025 season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":42831,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - 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