Opening Day is finally here and the Atlanta Braves start the season with a matchup against the Padres that will test them immediately. The good news is that spring training went well and almost everyone emerged unscathed from camp other than Sean Murphy, but this opening stretch of the season is going to be really tough especially with Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr. on the shelf.
To get you set to enjoy the Opening Day festivities and catch you up as to what the Braves will look like to start the 2025 season, here is a breakdown of Atlanta's Opening Day roster and what decisions were made to get us to this point.
Braves 2025 Opening Day Roster
Your 2025 Atlanta Braves #OpeningDay Roster!#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/DWyFjAv25b
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 27, 2025
This is certainly a different look compared to what Braves fans had grown accustomed to in recent years. Max Fried, AJ Minter, and Charlie Morton have moved on and the biggest new name fans will see in action is Jurickson Profar. We also will get the chance to see what top prospect Drake Baldwin has to offer after Murphy's rib injury sidelined him to start the season.
Braves Opening Day Lineup
Season starts today.#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/tfjicWIQRG
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 27, 2025
- Jurickson Profar
- Austin Riley
- Matt Olson
- Marcell Ozuna
- Ozzie Albies
- Michael Harris II
- Drake Baldwin
- Orlando Arcia
- Jarred Kelenic
Okay, before folks start going crazy over a lineup as is tradition, this is not what most Braves lineups will look like this year. The inclusion of Ronald Acuna Jr. is going to make things look very different as well as when Sean Murphy returns. For now, Jurickson Profar is hitting leadoff and it is a good fit assuming his OBP numbers from 2024 carry over to this season.
Would swapping Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies make objective sense? Yes, yes it would. After that, you have Baldwin batting seventh in his big league debut which tracks with how the Braves typically handle guys getting their first start no matter their upside. Orlando Arcia is going to have to prove he can do, well, anything at the plate again before he is going to hit higher than 8th and Jarred Kelenic is on his last chance to prove himself in the nine hole.
Braves Opening Day Rotation
- Chris Sale (Opening Day starter)
- Reynaldo Lopez
- Spencer Schwellenbach
- Grant Holmes
- AJ Smith-Shawver
The top three names in the rotation were mortal locks at the start of Braves spring training. Chris Sale is coming off a Cy Young winning season in 2024 and Spencer Schwellenbach is looking to build off what was an excellent rookie campaign. Reynaldo Lopez was excellent in his first season with the Braves, but there is some concern about him after he needed his workload was managed very carefully in camp and his velocity was down a little bit.
The last two spots, however, were anything but certain at the start of spring training. Ian Anderson was a prohibitive favorite at the start, but he couldn't find the strike zone and the team ultimately decided to ship him off to the Angels at the end of spring instead. AJ Smith-Shawver had a bit of a rocky start to his career, but pitched well this spring and the Braves' fascination with Grant Holmes held strong as it looks like he will get a look in the rotation to start the season.
Braves Opening Day Bullpen
- Raisel Iglesias (closer)
- Pierce Johnson
- Dylan Lee
- Aaron Bummer
- Hector Neris
- Enyel De Los Santos
- Jose Suarez
- Daysbel Hernandez
This is another spot where we are going to see several changes from 2024 after losing Minter and Jesse Chavez only finding his way back to Atlanta (again) on a minor league deal. Raisel Iglesias stays in closing duty, but the Braves are going to have to lean on guys like Pierce Johnson and Aaron Bummer in setup situations with Joe Jimenez out with a knee injury.
New faces include Hector Neris, Enyel De Los Santos, and Jose Suarez. Neris has experience in high leverage situations on some good teams, but the inclusion of Suarez immediately after coming over from the Ian Anderson trade is a little weird given how rough his last couple of seasons have been. That said, he is a multi-inning guy and that has a lot of value early in the season unless, of course, he doesn't pitch well.