With the final two teams standing in the 2025 season, we wanted to highlight the former Atlanta Braves who are on this year's World Series rosters. While certain players are much more obvious than others, including the 2024 World Series MVP, even the most diehard fans might have forgotten about certain players and coaches were even in the Braves organization.
This October, there are five former Braves playing or coaching on the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Former Braves playing in the 2025 World Series
Freddie Freeman is the most notable player in the World Series who once played for Atlanta. The former face of the franchise is now playing for his second championship in Los Angeles. So far, he's had a relatively quiet postseason, slashing .231/.333/.410 with his homer accounting for his loan RBI. Of course, this hasn't slowed his Dodgers, who have gone 8-1 in their first nine playoff games.
While Freeman is the only player on the Dodgers postseason roster to have played big league games for the Braves, Justin Dean spent seven seasons in the Braves farm system before becoming a free agent and signing with the Dodgers. He only got two big league at bats during the regular season, despite playing 18 games. This postseason, he's played in every single game, coming in as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner.
Lastly, the Dodgers coaching staff employs one former Brave, Chris Woodward. Woodward's Braves tenure was nearly two decades ago, as he spent 2007 with the club as their utility player, though his performance left a lot to be desired, as he slashed .199/.252/.279 (39 OPS+) and was worth -1.4 bWAR. Woodward is currently LA's first base coach.
The Blue Jays have one player and one coach who Braves fans might recognize. Kevin Gausman pitched for Atlanta for two seasons, coming over in a trade in 2018 and then spending most of 2019 with the Braves before getting DFA'd. Since leaving the Braves, the righty has been the second-best pitcher in baseball by fWAR.
DeMarlo Hale spent 2020 as the Atlanta Braves first base coach after Eric Young Sr. opted out of the shortened season. Hale departed the Braves organization immediately following that season to become Cleveland's bench coach, and then joined the Blue Jays in 2024 as the associate manager.