It is safe to say that Atlanta Braves fans expected the 2025 season to get off to a better start than it is has. The Braves currently sport the worst record in baseball at 1-8 and have struggled to find any level of consistency in every aspect of the game. Given that the team came into the season as favorites to make a deep playoff run, that is far from ideal.
It is still early and the team can definitely still turn things around, but they are going to have to do so quickly and are going to have their hands full in trying to secure their first series win of 2025 as they are going to have to do so against Sandy Alcantara on Sunday. Here are the latest goings on in the world of the Braves.
Braves News: Spencer Strider shoved in most recent MiLB start, could return after one more rehab appearance
If the early portion of the season has taught us anything, it is that the Braves desperately need some of their top talent to step up. While the guys who are healthy have yet to do so, there is hope that injured Braves ace Spencer Strider could return in short order to help restore things back to normalcy.
After having an internal brace procedure on his elbow a year ago, Strider has had a relatively smooth rehab thus far. He looked great in limited action in spring training and his most recent rehab appearance in the minors saw him mow down hitters across 5.1 hitless innings. After getting some pre-game work done at Truist Park this weekend, it sounds like that he could make his return to the big leagues after as little as one more rehab start in Gwinnett. Nothing is certain, but that does feel like the direction things are trending.
Braves News: Atlanta adds another brutal loss to their early 2025 ledger against the Marlins
While there have been some close games to start the season that just didn't go their way, the Braves have also had some pretty brutal losses where it felt like they were never in the game. Unfortunately, Saturday night's loss to the Marlins fell into that latter camp.
AJ Smith-Shawver struggled to keep Marlins hitters off the bases and couldn't keep the ball off of Matt Mervis' barrel for some reason. More importantly, the Braves offense went 0-9 with runners in scoring position, a familiar problem this season, and Atlanta's 1-5 hitters went a combined 2-18 as the home team got shut out.
Braves News: Atlanta buys another 34 acres near The Battery
One of the biggest reasons why the Braves have become one of the more valuable franchises in MLB is the success of The Battery. The team's real estate development around Truist Park has made the area a destination year-round for those looking to not only enjoy game day festivities, but also to shop and go out to eat even when the Braves are out of town or in the offseason.
The team clearly is looking to expand on the concept as they announced the purchase of 34 acres of property near The Battery called Pennant Park which is across the I-75 bridge as is around a 10 minute walk from Truist Park. Pennant Park includes around 2.700 parking spaces which would be a nice quality of life change for Braves fans. Plans for the property are unclear and may take a bit to come to fruition due to existing leases, but we can expect Atlanta to have something fun in the works.