More than anything, Atlanta Braves fans just don't want a repeat of the 2024 season. The Braves came into the season as among the prohibitive favorites only to have a seemingly endless cascade of catastrophic injuries befall them throughout the season. It was truly a miracle they made the playoffs at all given the names that lost significant time last season.
So far, the Braves seem to be in a good spot health-wise. No one has gotten hurt in camp yet and it seems like both Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr. are progressing well in their recoveries. Assuming nothing terrible happens (knocks on every piece of wood in sight), Atlanta is going to be in a very good spot heading into the 2025 season.
For that reason. Bleacher Report's prediction that the Braves will post a better record in 2025 than they did last year seems pretty spot on.
Prediction that Braves will outperform 2024 record should put fans' minds at ease
To be fair, predicting that the Braves will be better this coming season isn't all that brave. Atlanta lost Strider, Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, AJ Minter, Michael Harris II, and Sean Murphy among others for extended periods of time last year. Assuming they only have a portion of that bad injury luck this coming season, of course they will posted a better record, right?
Well, yes and no. Sure, the team will be better on paper when healthy and adding Jurickson Profar this offseason adds real depth to an already incredibly deep lineup. However, the Braves DID still somehow win 89 games last year and beating that mark does still require a lot to go right. Friendly reminder that the 2021 World Series champion Braves did not win that many regular season games.
Whether or not the Braves will post a 95-100 win season as Bleacher Report thinks they should will likely depend on how Atlanta navigates the early portion of the season. If they can survive the first month or so of the season while Strider and Acuna Jr. get healthy, Atlanta could absolutely go on a torrid run. If they struggle to get their feet under them, the 2025 season will be anything but easy especially given the strength of the National League in general.