ESPN gives depressing outlook for the Braves in the second half of 2025

BySteven Teal|
New York Yankees v Atlanta Braves
New York Yankees v Atlanta Braves | Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/GettyImages

The first half for the 2025 Atlanta Braves is extremely forgettable. The team started off 0-7, Jurickson Profar was suspended days into the season, and multiple key players suffered unfortunate injuries. It's not the way anyone expected things to go, as Atlanta was a favorite to win the World Series.

A deep postseason seems completely farfetched at this point. The Braves ended the first half with a 42-53 record and had a long way to go to have a chance at entering the postseason as a wild card. The division is too far out of reach at this point to be a consideration.

ESPN recently released projections for every team in the second half and listed Atlanta as a disappointment. Extremely accurate for how the season has gone, and their outlook on the second half is just as bleak.

ESPN second half projection sets pessimistic expectation for Braves fans

They have the Braves finishing the season with a 77-85 record. That is absolutely brutal to see. However, with the way their recent series against the Yankees went, it feels like Atlanta is destined to finish with a sub .500 record.

The article also has Atlanta's playoff odds at 2.1%. That feels pretty fair considering they are 12.5 games out of the division lead and 10.5 out of the wild card. Alex Anthopoulos is going to have the hardest trade deadline of his career.

Things felt bleak in 2021, but he found a way to help the team out. Now, this team is struggling in more key areas than the 2021 squad, so things will be harder to fix. The bullpen has glaring issues, the starting pitching is thin, and the offense could use a boost (although the offense has looked better early on in the second half).

The problem? There are very few players with high trade value, and contending teams will also be looking to improve. The Braves are in a very tough spot right now and may need to look at improving for next season instead of 2025.

Marcell Ozuna has an expiring contract and is likely on his way out. This is even more clear with the Braves' recent decision to call up catcher Sandy Leon, and to let Sean Murphy/Drake Baldwin be in the lineup at the same time. But with Ozuna's injury trouble this season, he may not net a very big return.

Raisel Iglesias is another obvious trade chip, but he has also tanked his trade value with an awful season. He can no longer rely on his slider as an out pitch, and it's helped opponents drastically. Opposing teams will likely inquire about Sean Murphy, but AA has stated he doesn't want to move players with control beyond this season.

Unfortunately, he's one of the only players that could net the Braves a good haul in return. Will it happen? Probably not. But all signs point towards Atlanta being sellers. It's not what anyone expected, but it's the reality right now.

Expect the Braves to entertain offers, but they'll keep most of their roster to prepare for better results in 2026.

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