The first half of the 2025 season ended in familiar fashion for Atlanta Braves fans, as the team lost a crushing 5-4 game to the St. Louis Cardinals after sitting through several hours of rain delays. Now, at 42-53 on the year, they enter the break in fourth place in the NL East, 12.5 games back of the first-place Philadelphia Phillies and 9.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the NL. Their postseason hopes are all but gone now.
As bad as things have gone, though, their trade deadline plans, according to FanSided's Robert Murray, make it clear that while 2025 might be a wash, the organization believes it can win in 2026.
"While almost every contending team is searching for starting pitching at the trade deadline, one name that can be crossed off the list is Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale. Atlanta has not discussed Sale in trade talks and will not consider moving the left-hander or any other player under control beyond 2025, according to major-league sources," Murray wrote.
Murray makes it clear that Chris Sale and any other player under control beyond the 2025 campaign will be staying put. Guys like Marcell Ozuna and Raisel Iglesias, who are ticketed for free agency this offseason, might get dealt, but for the most part, this means that Atlanta's roster will look awfully similar, with only a few players departing.
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Braves projected 2026 lineup: Atlanta has internal replacement for Marcell Ozuna already on their roster
Batting Order | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
1 | Jurickson Profar | LF |
2 | Matt Olson | 1B |
3 | Ronald Acuña Jr. | RF |
4 | Austin Riley | 3B |
5 | Drake Baldwin | C |
6 | Sean Murphy | DH |
7 | Ozzie Albies | 2B |
8 | Michael Harris II | CF |
9 | Nick Allen | SS |
We can argue about the order all we want, but it feels as if the Opening Day lineup for the Braves next season could very easily include these nine individuals.
The eye-opener here is that the Braves will replace Ozuna internally with Sean Murphy at the DH spot. Doing so allows Atlanta to play both members of their vaunted catcher platoon regularly while giving each of them an appropriate amount of time off their feet. It'd be an unorthodox approach to start two catchers regularly, but both Baldwin and Murphy are bonafide studs at the dish. If we're being honest, based on how Ozuna has performed this season, Atlanta might be wise to keep Ozuna on the bench more than they have while starting their catchers regularly before he's inevitably traded in a couple of weeks.
The Braves could choose to trade a guy like Murphy to help address other needs on their roster, but given their reluctance to trade anyone locked in past this season at the deadline, odds are Atlanta wants to keep him around. Plus, rostering two of the better catchers in the game certainly isn't a bad thing.
The lower-third of this order has been an issue all season for the Braves, but where is Anthopoulos going to make changes? Will he really reject Ozzie Albies' $7 million club option, knowing there's a $2 million buyout attached and that he could easily revert to All-Star form? Would he consider benching or trading Michael Harris, knowing he's locked in for at least another five seasons? Would he bench or trade Nick Allen, arguably the best defensive shortstop in the game?
Whether he should or shouldn't run it back can be debated, but there's certainly reason to believe that things can be better next season, even with the lineup remaining as is. I believe the Braves should strongly consider adding a big bat and improving the bench, but I'm not so sure Anthopoulos will do so.
Braves projected 2026 starting rotation: Health gets staff back to elite status
Braves Rotation Order | Pitcher |
|---|---|
1 | Chris Sale |
2 | Spencer Schwellenbach |
3 | Spencer Strider |
4 | Reynaldo Lopez |
5 | Grant Holmes |
The Braves' rotation has struggled lately, but how many teams' rotations would survive with Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, Reynaldo Lopez and AJ Smith-Shawver all on the IL at the same time for a substantial period? The answer is none.
The Braves won't get Smith-Shawver back until possibly 2027 after he underwent Tommy John surgery last month, but there's every reason to believe Sale, Schwellenbach and Lopez will all be good to go come Opening Day next season. Add that All-Star trio to Spencer Strider and Grant Holmes, and the Braves might have the best rotation in the game.
Obviously, injuries are a major concern with this group, but when healthy, is there a better rotation out there? I mean, Sale is a perennial Cy Young contender, Schwellenbach looks every bit like a budding star, Strider is only improving as he returns to full health, Lopez was an All-Star last season and Holmes has stepped up in a big way amid all the turmoil around him in 2025.
There are questions about how Atlanta's lineup will perform and what the bullpen will look like with several regulars in the lineup returning and Iglesias (and others) presumably departing, but the rotation is a clear strength, and could be good enough to get the Braves back to the postseason.