Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos has built a World Series-caliber roster by keeping the core of the team under contract for years. Superstars Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley have made a long-term commitment to the organization.
While some of these contracts are slowly starting to come to an end and the rest of the club has seen more turnover as of late, it feels like it is now or never for Atlanta. If they are fully healthy, the Braves are expected to make a strong postseason push in 2025. Here are three players who would love for that to happen as they are likely entering their final season with Atlanta.
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Chris Sale
When Chris Sale was acquired by the Braves in December of 2023, many expected him to make minimal contributions and spend the majority of the season injured. This was a fair prediction given Sale's recent history — but he became an immediate ace.
Sale was strictly dominant in 2024 winning the NL Cy Young while also leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He is off to a great start in the Spring Training, but it is hard to imagine him following last season with an encore.
Sale is entering the final year of his contract and is 35 years old. His body has undergone serious wear and tear after pitching for 14 years in the big leagues. Even if he performs well in 2025 and wants to continue his career, Anthopoulos and the Braves front office will be hesitant to commit to a 15-year veteran. Retirement may be on the horizon for Sale, and he has the opportunity to use 2025 to ride off into the sunset.
Bryce Elder
In just three seasons with the Braves, Bryce Elder has been on a roller coaster of emotions. He has an All-Star Game appearance on his brief resume but followed that up with a 6.52 ERA in 2024 across 10 starts.
Even with all the question marks the Braves starting rotation has lingering, they have better options than Elder. AJ Smith-Shawver has impressed during spring training and former first round pick Hurston Waldrep is making adjustments to move up the organizational ladder.
With all of Elder's inconsistency between his multiple call-ups and send-downs, the Braves will likely use him as a trade piece at the deadline in 2025 or simply choose not to re-sign him at the end of the season.
Jarred Kelenic
The Braves acquired Jarred Kelenic from the Seattle Mariners knowing he would be an experiment. Atlanta saw something in the young, left-handed outfielder but their vision has failed to come to fruition.
Kelenic had stretches last season where he was really good, particularly when he first took over the every day role following Ronald Acuna Jr.'s injury. However, Kelenic struggled both offensively and defensively for the majority of the season.
Atlanta and Kelenic were able to avoid arbitration by coming to terms on a one-year, $2.3 million deal. With the addition of Jurickson Profar this offseason and Acuña's return looming, Kelenic will be the odd man out on Brian Snitker's outfield depth chart. While he has potential to add value to the team coming off the bench,
Kelenic would prefer to play every day and at this point just doesn't seem like a good fit for the Braves. His situation is very similar to Elder's in the sense that a trade at the deadline is not unrealistic but could be on the free agent market heading into 2026.