ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – With the New York Mets’ win over the Washington Nationals on Friday, the Atlanta Braves have officially been eliminated from postseason contention.
It will be the first time since 2017 that Atlanta will not be playing in October.
The Braves (71-83), once foreseen as a legitimate World Series contender, increasingly faced an incredible amount of adversity as the season progressed. Injuries, underperformance and all-around bad luck forced an ugly season.
Slow start, injuries make things difficult
The team started the season 0-7, getting swept by the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, putting the Braves in an immediate rut. It was a rut they continuously attempted to climb out of as the season went on, but injuries and misfortune spoiled their hopes along the way.
At one point, Atlanta’s entire Opening Day starting rotation was on the 60-day injured list:
Chris Sale (ribs)
Reynaldo López (shoulder)
Spencer Schwellenbach (elbow)
Grant Holmes (elbow)
AJ Smith-Shawver (elbow)
Ronald Acuña Jr. (knee) and Spencer Strider (elbow) also missed the start of the season recovering from injuries suffered in 2024, and Austin Riley was ruled out for the season after making a diving play and suffering a sports hernia during the MLB Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The bullpen used 29 different arms throughout the season, and that’s if you omit infielders Luke Williams and Vidal Brujan, who stepped in as the team was getting blown out and combined for eight innings of work.
Injuries galore
Injuries certainly played a part. But what stands out is the underperformance among some of Atlanta’s players.
The Braves currently have eight active players (min. 100 at-bats) with an OPS below .700 this season. That includes everyday second baseman Ozzie Albies (.671), everyday center fielder Michael Harris II (.650), Eli White (.660), Nacho Alvarez (.609) and Nick Allen (.530), who lost the starting shortstop role to Ha-Seong Kim earlier this month.
Now, Harris bumped that number up quite a bit from July 18 to Aug. 19, recording a 1.139 OPS during that time (third among MLB qualifiers). However, since Aug. 20, he’s had a .392 OPS, which is the worst in baseball.
Albies has a $7 million team option for 2026 with a $4 million buyout. The team has five days post World Series to decide whether they want to keep him for another year. Harris is signed through 2030 with team options in 2031 and 2032.
Sure, both players shocked with how poor their seasons were, but one has to think they can’t get any worse next year… right?
Snitker’s future uncertain
But for now, the focus turns to manager Brian Snitker, who – along with the entire baseball world – is unsure what the future holds.
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The soon-to-be 70-year-old’s contract is up at the end of this season. Although general manager and president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has said that Snitker will be part of the organization in some form “for life,” Snitker has expressed interest in a potential return next season, since this year has been a flop.
“I want to keep fighting and win as many games as we can,” Snitker said. “I have things I’m thinking about in the back of my head. There’s still a fire there … similar to last year. I’m juggling a lot of things and I’m not sure where I will end up, but I still feel like there’s some unfinished business here.”
The Braves will finish a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday before returning to Truist Park for their final homestand of the season, where they will play the Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates.
