3 former Braves fan favorites failing on their new teams

It feels like the Atlanta Braves haven't come close to hitting their stride in the 2024 season. Despite that, they have one of the three best records in the National League entering play on Tuesday, sitting at 27-17 on the season.

It's scary to think about just how good this Braves team can be once they get key pieces like Austin Riley and Sean Murphy healthy and when they get reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. going. Yes, Spencer Strider is done for the season, but the sky is still the limit for Atlanta.

While things have gone well for Atlanta, things haven't gone quite as smoothly for these three former Braves fan favorites.

3) Vaughn Grissom hasn't gotten it going with the Red Sox

The biggest trade that Atlanta made over the offseason saw them land Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Vaughn Grissom. It was hard to know what to expect from the oft-injured but supremely talented Sale, but he's been lights out in Atlanta's rotation. Meanwhile, Grissom hasn't quite gotten things going in Beantown.

The Braves traded Grissom not because he's a bad player, but because there was nowhere for him to play in Atlanta. Ozzie Albies is a fixture at second base, Orlando Arcia has emerged as the team's clear-cut shortstop, and Grissom is not an outfielder. With the Red Sox, he was going to get a chance to play every day. That's something Atlanta simply could not provide.

The 23-year-old missed the first month of the season with a hamstring strain that he suffered in spring training. He made his Red Sox debut in early May and has appeared in 13 games, but hasn't hit much, slashing .135/.151/.154 with just one extra-base hit, a double, in 53 plate appearances.

Grissom is a player who has always hit in the minor leagues but hasn't done much with this opportunity to play every day. Red Sox fans certainly hope he can get going offensively sooner rather than later.

2) Michael Soroka has continued to struggle with the White Sox

At one point, Michael Soroka looked like he'd be a future star. His first full season back in 2019 saw him post a 2.68 ERA in 29 starts and 174.2 innings of work. It took an absurd rookie season from Pete Alonso to take the NL Rookie of the Year award from Soroka, and the Braves right-hander even finished sixth in the NL Cy Young balloting.

Unfortunately, Soroka has not been able to replicate that success, or even come close to it. In the four seasons that followed, he made a total of ten appearances (nine starts) and had a 5.67 ERA in 46 innings of work. He missed substantial time due to injuries and in the rare instances he was able to take the mound, he wasn't any good.

The Braves traded him to the Chicago White Sox over the offseason in the deal that sent Aaron Bummer to Atlanta. Bummer predictably has flourished in the Braves bullpen while Soroka has continued to struggle.

He has a 5.85 ERA in 10 appearances (nine starts) with the White Sox. Granted, he did just pitch well in his first relief outing of the season, but being bumped from the starting rotation on a 14-34 team is not a great look. Hopefully he can get things turned around in relief, but it's hard to expect much.

1) Eddie Rosario looks like a shell of himself with the Nationals

Eddie Rosario became an instant Braves fan favorite when he not only helped the Braves make the playoffs in 2021, but he put up a historically great performance in the NLCS to knock off the Los Angeles Dodgers. They'd eventually win the World Series.

Unfortunately, his streakiness turned out to be at least part of why Atlanta let him go this offseason and instead traded for Jarred Kelenic. Rosario wound up inking a deal with the Washington Nationals.

Rosario has had a very strong month of May, posting a 1.116 OPS, but that only improved his slash line to .190/.252/.388 on the season. Even with a huge month, Rosario has been a subpar hitter this season, which says a lot about how bad he was in April.

If Rosario continues to produce he won't be on a future list like this, but knowing his tendencies, there's a very good chance he'll fall back into a deep slump sometime in the not-too-distant future. Kelenic is far from a perfect player, but Atlanta isn't missing much from Rosario.