The Atlanta Braves are in a great spot. While they have a tough series this week against the Cubs, they just took a series against the always-tough Dodgers and have the best record in baseball as of May 12. At this point, finding fault with what the Braves are doing as well as with their roster feels very nitpicky. If things stay exactly the same as they are right now, the Braves are still a very, very good baseball team.
That does not mean that EVERYTHING is going according to plan, though. Some players have underperformed expectations, and the Braves have certainly dealt with some injuries already, but there are a few players who are putting themselves in real jeopardy with their play so far in the first half.
Here are the players on the Braves' active roster who are playing their way out of their jobs
Now, the goal here isn't to say that these players are going to be fired into the sun in a week. That would be funny in some cases, but unlikely. However, all of these guys could end up losing their roles in a hurry if they don't get going soon. In some cases, it may not even matter if they do end up turning things around.
Mike Yastrzemski
This is difficult because Mike Yastrzemski is making real money at the moment, which does change things to an extent. The Braves signed Yastrzemski in the hope that he would be, at minimum, a solid platoon bat who had a chance to be more than that. Unfortunately, the early returns on Yastrzemski this season have been entirely disappointing.
Through Yastrzemski's first 125 plate appearances with the Braves, he is the "proud" owner of a .516 OPS, and the metrics under the hood are not encouraging whatsoever. Atlanta is going to try to get their money's worth out of Yastrzemski since he is making $9 million this year and $10 million in 2027, but the Braves aren't in a position where they HAVE to play him if he makes the team worse, either.
Kyle Farmer
It feels like Kyle Farmer has been on the chopping block for a while now. The Braves have a surprisingly deep stable of utility infielders, and while Farmer does have value, he is a lesser option than guys like Mauricio Dubon and Jorge Mateo right now.
With Ha-Seong Kim out, keeping Farmer around as a pinch-hitting/replacement option made plenty of sense. However, Kim is back now, and if he is healthy and Eli White returns from a concussion without issues, it feels like Farmer is the next man out.
Tyler Kinley
This one hurts because Tyler Kinley was so good after the Braves traded for him at the deadline, and it was great to see the Braves bring him back last offseason at the time. It also looked like Kinley was well on his way to vindicating Atlanta's faith in him after he posted a 0.82 ERA and 2.94 FIP through his first 12 appearances of 2026.
However, the story has been very different with Kinley since then and not for the better. Over his last seven appearances, Kinley has only managed a disastrous 8.53 ERA and 8.13 FIP with four walks, three home runs, and 10 hits allowed in 6.1 innings of work. At this point, there should be zero confidence in him when he comes into games until he proves otherwise.
Aaron Bummer
We won't belabor the point here as we have detailed Bummer's struggles elsewhere. The short version is that he hasn't been good for a while, and he has been particularly rough over his last five appearances, although he did manage to put up a clean frame against the Dodgers on the road on May 8 at least.
There is something to be said about the fact that the Braves just don't have many decent lefty relief alternatives available to them at the moment. However, that is not an argument to let Bummer cost the Braves in close games, so you should expect the Braves to figure something else out before the month ends.
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