For the second straight season, injuries/absences cost the Atlanta Braves any chance of turning their season around. While the 2025 Braves have struggled on a number of fronts, getting back on track proved impossible when Atlanta lost their entire Opening Day rotation in addition to Austin Riley to injuries, have to wait half a season for Ronald Acuña Jr. to return, and also have to deal with the unfortunate Jurickson Profar suspension.
The bigger issue for the Braves, and one that has a number of experts and fans concerned, is that Atlanta has some key players who are seemingly declining while others have left in free agency altogether. There is always going to be roster turnover with any team, but the Braves have lost some big time players in recent years and their track record of replacing those players is sketchy at best.
Count ESPN's David Schoenfield among those with the same questions/concerns about the Braves. While Schoenfield correctly points out the team's mistakes and shortcomings this season, he still seems to think that Atlanta has a real chance of bouncing back in 2026.
ESPN's David Schoenfield gave an honest, yet encouraging assessment of the Braves' chances going forward
Schoenfield is pretty spot on in identifying the players whose regression hurt the Braves (Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Marcell Ozuna, first half Michael Harris II, etc.) as well as the injuries that decimated their roster. However, he also pointed out that the Braves' front office failed to add much in the way of starting pitching depth after losing Max Fried and Charlie Morton and having the banged up Reynaldo Lopez in the rotation. That said, he did note that most of Atlanta's injured pitchers are expected to be back next season and Hurston Waldrep's emergence should help a lot.
He also went further to point out the Braves' bullpen as a major disappointment that needs rebuilding. However, he did go into depth that Atlanta has some options to potentially replace Raisel Iglesias once he leaves in free agency both internally as well as in free agency.
The one area that Schoenfield seemed to have few actual answers in how to fix was the Braves' shortstop situation. He did mention Bo Bichette as an option, but correctly noted that he is a pretty crummy defender and is likely to be priced beyond of Atlanta's comfort zone especially given what they would be getting out of him.
Will the Braves be better in 2026? The odds point to yes, but Alex Anthopoulos and the front office have to be aggressive in fixing their problems this offseason. If Schoenfield's analysis showed one thing, it is that the organization was not proactive enough to guard against potential problems and the Braves paid dearly for it this season. With a reset luxury tax and some money to play with this offseason, Atlanta just has to execute a real plan and then they will be right back in the thick of things again.