The Atlanta Braves ended the first half as one of MLB's most disappointing teams, and to add to that, they're incredibly banged up, particularly on the starting pitching front. Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, and Spencer Schwellenbach are all out until August at the earliest. Considering where they are standings-wise and injury-wise, most Braves fans have given up hope on the team competing in 2025. However, with this almost certainly being Brian Snitker's last season as Atlanta's manager due to his contract status, the Braves could attempt to make a costly push toward the playoffs, particularly with Schwellenbach.
Schwellenbach is sidelined with a fractured elbow, which he suffered in late June. There's a chance he could return this season, but Mark Bowman of MLB.com notes that his return might be predicated on where the Braves are in the standings.
One thing I didn’t include here is my expectation the Braves will win at least 18 of 25 games in Sept. Sale will be back. There’s also a chance Lopez and Jimenez could be as well. Schwellenbach might depend on the WC standings. Just feeling Snit’s final month will be a good one. https://t.co/dBI8kapUis
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 16, 2025
It makes sense for the Braves to want to win big in what could be Snitker's final season with the Braves. He has been the Braves' manager for a decade now, and he's had tremendous amounts of success. He's won over 140 more games than he's lost as Braves manager, and, of course, led the team to a World Series title in 2021. Still, while it'd be fun to win it for Snit, it wouldn't make much sense to push Schwellenbach.
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Braves can't let Brian Snitker fairytale get in way of franchise's future
Bowman's tweet makes a lot of sense. The Braves could go on a run when they get healthier in September, given the talent that's on their roster. A big run might be good enough to get them in the playoff hunt, considering the three Wild Card spots. Still, even if the Braves have a shot at the postseason, rushing Schwellenbach back just to give Snitker one more fairytale run just doesn't make sense.
Schwellenbach, in just 38 career starts, has established himself as one of Atlanta's franchise players. He has future ace written all over him, if he isn't one already. If there's one thing that the Braves should not do with their 25-year-old phenom, it's rush him back from an elbow fracture just for Atlanta to make an unlikely postseason push.
If Schwellenbach is actually 100 percent, by all means, let him pitch. If he's any less than 100 percent, though, the Braves would be doing themselves a disservice. They need to make sure he's healthy for next season, alongside the likes of Sale, Lopez, and Spencer Strider. Sure, Snitker deserves a nice send-off, but not at the expense of Atlanta's future. Hopefully, the Braves don't let Snitker's imminent departure cloud them from how they should be handling Schwellenbach, which is very carefully.