After a tough loss to the Phillies on Saturday, the Atlanta Braves still possess a four-game lead in the NL East. Most teams would kill to be in the position that the Braves are in right now heading into the final month of the season and, for the most part, this season could be viewed as a success in Atlanta already, especially when compared to the dumpster fire that was last year.
However, the journey to this point has been very uneven, and you will struggle to find many Braves fans who have complete confidence that this team can make a deep playoff run. Sure, some decisions have accomplished or exceeded what Atlanta wanted, and that's been great, but others are proving problematic this September.
Here are some of the decisions the Braves made in recent years that are making the biggest impact this September
This isn't a breakdown of every decision the Braves have made over the last few years. Instead, this is a partial look at some of the decisions Atlanta has made in recent years that are having an outsized impact on the Braves' push for a playoff spot this year. Some have been very good, while others have made their lives more difficult.
Failing to add starting pitcher depth was an unforced error
This is a big one and a topic that Braves fans have been arguing about all season. Yes, the Braves have made their patchwork rotation work this year, but there have been stretches where they have really struggled and, perhaps more importantly, this is not a group that pitches particularly deep into games. That has put a pretty heavy workload on a bullpen that has its own issues.
The frustrating thing is that we all knew that the rotation was an issue heading into LAST offseason, and the Braves just decided that they didn't like the price tags. At some point, Atlanta is going to have to realize that what they think a player should cost is not what the market values them at and adjust. Now, the Braves face the prospect of having Martin Perez, Grant Holmes, and/or Bryce Elder pitching meaningful playoff games in 2026, and that is spooky.
Braves better be thanking their lucky stars that they gave Chris Sale the extensions they did
While the rotation doesn't inspire the most confidence, that is through no fault of Chris Sale. The Braves’ choice to trade for the aging Sale is already going to go down as one of the best trades in franchise history. They only gave up Vaughn Grissom, who has struggled to even stay in the big leagues at all, and Sale has morphed back into being a perennial Cy Young contender again.
The trade was great, but what is making the biggest difference right now is that the Braves doubled down and extended Sale TWICE after acquiring him. That not only means that Sale is under team control through at least 2027 with a $30 million club option for 2028, but it is also the only reason why the Braves even have Sale carrying them right now.
Trading for Tyler Mahle looks like a genius move right now
How about Tyler Mahle? Most were underwhelmed by the Braves' trade deadline this year, and revelations that Atlanta nearly acquired Jacob deGrom did little to make fans feel any better about it. However, Mahle has been better than anyone could have hoped, and gives Atlanta a viable No. 2 starter behind the aforementioned Sale.
Will Mahle remain THIS good? Probably not, but his 2.87 FIP does indicate that not all of his success has been dumb luck. Through five starts since being traded, Mahle has a 1.48 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 30.1 innings of work. That'll play, and should help a lot the rest of the way if he can stay anywhere close to that.
Austin Riley's contract extension has basically made him unbenchable despite prolonged slump
Sigh, Austin Riley's decline has been sad to watch. He is getting eaten alive by sliders again, and now his timing on fastballs is maddeningly inconsistent. Riley has at least shown some signs of improvement over the last month or so, but it has very much been a “one-step-forward, one-step-back” sort of situation.
Ideally, the Braves would be able to sit Riley more often and either give him extra time out of the spotlight to get completely healthy or get some extra work in to fix his swing. Unfortunately, the hefty contract extension that Atlanta gave Riley back in 2022 has essentially made him unbenchable. For better or worse, we are going to be seeing a LOT of Riley at third base regardless of how he is hitting unless the Braves find someone to take him that thinks they can fix him.
Lack of real (and good) investment at shortstop has made Mauricio Dubon's bat far more important right now than it should be
This is a funny one, because it goes both ways. Had the Braves not traded for Mauricio Dubon, Atlanta may have been cooked this season given how bad Ha-Seong Kim has been as their shortstop solution. While his bat can be frustrating at times, Dubon has provided much-needed stability at short that the Braves sorely needed.
However, it is still true that Dubon is best as a super utility player who moves all around the field, but the Braves haven't been able to do that as much because of their lack of investment in shortstop. The free-agent shortstop options since Dansby Swanson left may not have been overly exciting, but Atlanta also failed to use the trade market or their player development program to find a real shortstop. This was a failure on multiple levels, and one that has been several years in the making.
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