The regular season is just 10 days away for the Atlanta Braves and it cannot come soon enough. They will start the season on the road in San Diego and hope to keep their roster healthy all season. For the moment, their biggest priority is trying to figure out what the final roster will look like as the end of spring training approaches.
Atlanta's biggest questions lie with the back end of the rotation and their bullpen construction. We have some idea of what that will look like but there have been some recent cuts that were a tad bit surprising bullpen-wise.
There are some performances this spring that have been less than stellar and fans have noticed. However, it is important to keep in mind that spring training performances don't mean a lot in the grand scheme of things.
It provides players with an idea of what they need to work on and improve during the season. There's no reason to panic as baseball is a game of adjustments. Let's examine three Braves who haven't been overly impressive this spring and what it means for 2025.
3 poor spring training performances Braves fans shouldn't be too worried about
Ozzie Albies
Albies had a short-lived season in 2024 after he suffered a broken wrist on July 22nd. He didn't return to the field until September 20th and only batted from the right side. He was going to need some time to get things back on track.
This spring has been very bad for Albies as he is batting .133/.188/.167 over 30 at-bats with one double, two walks, six strikeouts, and a .355 OPS. It's concerning to see but at the end of the day, he will figure things out. When Albies is healthy, he's one of the best hitters on the Braves' roster.
Once he gets back into the swing of things, he will provide the team with 25+ doubles, 20+ homers, and 90+ RBI. He's a three-time All-Star for a reason. But the key here is that he needs to remain healthy.
Ian Anderson
Anderson is vying for a spot in the rotation after not pitching in an MLB game since 2022 due to injury. He was a big part of the team's 2021 World Series win and 2020 playoff run. He completed 68 innings across four minor league levels last season with a collective 3.44 ERA.
Anderson's major issue this spring is the awful amount of walks he's allowed. This has been something Anderson has struggled with his entire career. He had 29 walks in the minors last season. This spring, he has walked 18 batters with just eight strikeouts over 17 innings. Over those five appearances (four starts) he has a 2.65 ERA with five earned runs allowed on six hits and an impressive .107 opponent's average.
Ian Anderson's 3Ks in the 1st.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 6, 2025
And ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/uL4ufcICuu
That is the silver lining of the high amount of walks he issued. He isn't allowing many runs, thanks to his dependency on ground balls to get out of jams. The walks will eventually come back to bite him so fans are right to be concerned, but he's almost guaranteed a chance at the rotation so we have to hope for the best.
Matt Olson
Olson has faced a lot of criticism from some fans for how poorly he performed last season. However, he's been a great addition since being acquired from the A's ahead of the 2022 season. He's averaged 36 doubles, 39 homers, and 113 RBI per season since coming to Atlanta.
However, like most power hitters, he has averaged 169 strikeouts per season as well. That's not great to see but it's expected in today's game. So far in spring training, Olson has a .212/.297/.394 line over 33 at-bats with two homers, five RBI, four walks, seven strikeouts, and a .691 OPS.
Even with last season being a "down year" for Atlanta's first baseman, he still had 37 doubles, 29 homers, 98 RBI, a 2.6 WAR, and a 117 wRC+. He also happens to be one of the best defensive first basemen in baseball with 13 defensive runs saved (DRS) and 3 outs above average (OAA) last season. His 13 DRS was the best among all MLB first basemen last season. The next closest was Carlos Santana with an 8 DRS.
Olson finished 2024 strong and he has for some reason always performed better in years that end in an odd number. So all signs point to the Georgia native getting back on track this season. There's nothing to worry about here.