This season has been far from the season that the Atlanta Braves expected. Although Atlanta holds the top National League Wild Card spot, they are still 8 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies after the rough start to the second half.
There is no doubt that the season-ending injuries that Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr. suffered earlier this season has played a factor in the Braves struggles. Now Atlanta faces new challenges with the recent injuries to Ozzie Albies and Max Fried.
Atlanta wasted no time making roster moves in response to these devastating losses. Nacho Alvarez Jr. was called up from Gwinnett and the Braves signed veteran utility man Whit Merrifield.
Braves just have to be better in second half
It was the middle of April when the Braves were informed that Spencer Strider would miss the remainder of the season. Of course Atlanta still feels the hole he has left, but with Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez performing the way they are, the Braves rotation is just fine.
Ronald Acuna Jr. suffered a torn ACL in late May. We know he had the capability to flip a switch but before his injury, Acuna was not having a great year. This injury has been harder to swallow since Adam Duvall has struggled so much and Michael Harris II has spent a good amount of time on the IL himself. This makes the Braves extra thankful for the emergence of Jarred Kelenic in 2024.
The fact of the matter is that the injuries occured long enough ago where there should be no more "hangover". Quite frankly, Atlanta has plenty of time to process the position they are in and make adjustments as needed. We can expect AA to make some moves at the trade deadline in hopes to improve the team but the core of the team still has to perform.
As the currrent roster stands, the Braves still have the following all-star caliber players they are relying on, most of which have performed under expectations in 2024: Matt Olson, Orlando Arcia, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, Travis d'Arnaud, Marcell Ozuna and Michael Harris II.
Hopefully Nacho Alvarez is able to ignite the Braves offesnse and bring a refreshing energy to a clubhouse that is undoubtedly down in the dumps. Atlanta's unfortune is part of a 162 game grind teams do not want to face, but must be able to cope with in order to be successful.