Opening Day is just a few precious weeks away and the Atlanta Braves seem to have most of their roster plans figured out. Most of their roster was set in stone when camp started and even in the places where there are opportunities to compete, the favorites for those spots have generally held firm and remain likely to make the cut.
However, the injury to Sean Murphy has certainly changed the Braves' plans at catcher especially while he is out and the bullpen competition has yet to fully flush itself out despite the team doing multiple roster cuts to remove contenders.
Predicting the Braves' 2025 Opening Day Roster
Again, this is a very fluid situation and as we alluded to in our first Opening Day roster prediction, things can change pretty quickly. This is our best guess in the moment, but we know full well that getting everything right is going to be a tall order especially for those last few roster spots. Here is our best guess as of early March as to what the Braves' Opening Day roster will look like.
Braves Opening Day Position Players
- Catchers: Drake Baldwin, Chadwick Tromp
- First Base: Matt Olson
- Second Base: Ozzie Albies
- Shortstop: Orlando Arcia
- Third Base: Austin Riley
- Outfield: Michael Harris II, Jurickson Profar, Bryan De La Cruz, Jarred Kelenic
- DH: Marcell Ozuna
- Bench: Eli White, Luke Williams
Obviously the biggest change from our first pass is at catcher where Drake Baldwin is the leading contender to be Atlanta's primary backstop with Murphy out. There are some rumblings at the moment that the Braves are shopping around for catching help, but we still think Baldwin gets the nod to start the season with Tromp being the safest pick to back him up given his familiarity with the pitching staff.
Most everything else remains the same with the notable exception of Eli White getting a bench spot. White was already firmly in the conversation and after really showing out this spring and adding some infield versatility, he gets the nod over Christian Cairo.
Braves Opening Day Rotation
- Chris Sale, LHP
- Spencer Schwellenbach, RHP
- Reynaldo Lopez, RHP
- AJ Smith-Shawver, RHP
- Ian Anderson, RHP
We had Bryce Elder sneaking in and getting a rotation spot with our first go, but he has not looked good this spring while AJ Smith-Shawver has pitched quite well. With AJSS already on the 40-man roster, there is little reason to keep him out of the rotation if he is the choice that gives Atlanta the best chance to win.
Ian Anderson has had more of a rollercoaster of a spring with his last outing being a bit of an adventure. However, Braves insider Mark Bowman seems to think that Anderson is pretty much a lock to get a rotation spot regardless due to his lack of minor league options. If he struggles, the Braves may have a tough decision to make on him when Spencer Strider returns.
Anderson's outing tonight was just blah. Changeup was good. He walked four in 3.1 scoreless and his FB was 92-93. But as long as he doesn't completely fall apart. he'll start the year in the rotation. He's out of options. Braves will see where depth is when Strider returns
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) March 7, 2025
Braves Opening Day Bullpen
- Raisel Iglesias, RHP
- Pierce Johnson, RHP
- Aaron Bummer, LHP
- Dylan Lee, LHP
- Daysbel Hernandez, RHP
- Angel Perdomo, LHP
- Grant Holmes, RHP
- Anderson Pilar, RHP
Surprisingly, our bullpen projections remain the same as the guys who aren't guaranteed spots have played pretty well and, importantly, haven't been amongst the Braves' spring roster cuts yet.
Iglesias, Johnson, Bummer, and Lee are pretty much locks. The Braves love Holmes and he is also out of minor league options, but we like him more as a reliever and should fit well in the bullpen as a long man. Hernandez, Perdomo, and Pilar are less certain, but there hasn't really been a standout performance from a NRI to supplant them for now. Pilar is the guy most in danger after being pretty iffy so far this spring, although the Braves would probably prefer to keep him after selecting Pilar in the Rule 5 Draft.