4 Braves who definitely won’t be back if they miss the playoffs

The Atlanta Braves' season from hell continues. Injuries have ravaged the depth chart, top to bottom. Both Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider, arguably Atlanta's best players, are out of commission until 2025. Sean Murphy, Michael Harris, and most recently Ozzie Albies have all missed significant time. We've seen Max Fried pop up on the IL. It's tough sledding for the reigning NL East champs.

It's hard to blame the Braves in the conventional sense. Injuries suck. If the Braves weren't so deeply wounded across the board, this season would be going much differently. There have been unexpected issues on the offensive end, but it all circles back to the volume of absences. Slumps are more damaging when the lineup isn't at full strength.

There have been positives, of course. Atlanta has three All-Stars in the starting rotation despite Strider's absence. Marcell Ozuna has been one of the hottest bats in the MLB all season. At 60-54, the Braves are still very much in the postseason hunt with a chance to make noise on that familiar stage.

As of this writing, however, the Braves are a half-game back of the final Wild Card spot in the National League. As Atlanta falters, the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks are surging on the west coast. The New York Mets are now second place in the NL East. There is a palpable panic beginning to build in the Braves fandom.

If Atlanta cannot salvage this season down the stretch, more than a few offseason changes are inevitable. Here are the Braves who won't be back without a playoffs appearance.

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4. Adam Duvall

Adam Duvall's return marked just one of many Braves reunions this season. The mood has been less than celebratory, however, as Duvall has struggled under the burden of necessity. Initially signed as useful depth, Duvall has been forced into an almost full-time role due to the multiple injuries in the outfield. Jorge Soler's arrival relieves some of the pressure on Duvall (and limits the Braves' reliance on him), but Eddie Rosario was just DFA'd, so the Braves can't catch a break.

Through 283 at-bats, Duvall is batting .184 with a deeply concerning .524 OPS. He's slugging a bit (10 home runs, 29 RBI), but the strikeouts are rampant. Duvall just doesn't have the necessary plate discipline. His expected batting average (.205) is in the second percentile for qualified hitters, a perfect summation of how bad his season has been. Even if he regresses to the mean, Duvall will rank among the worst hitters in baseball.

The defense hasn't done much to balance the scales, so the Braves are left with a gaping hole in the corner outfield. Once Atlanta is back to full strength, they should be able to phase Duvall out of the lineup. Still, for a dude who led the MLB in runs batted in and won a World Series with the Braves in 2021, it's startling to see how far Duvall's star has fallen.

Odds are the Braves will let his one-year deal expire and not think twice.

3. Charlie Morton

Charlie Morton has dealt with retirement rumors for a few years now. He's 41 and publicly uncertain about the future. While we don't have a concrete declaration of his intent, it's hard to imagine Morton coming back for his age-42 season even if the Braves go deep into March. A regular season flameout, however, could really seal the deal. There's more motivation to return when the Braves feel like an unbeatable juggernaut.

Now, maybe there's something to the idea of finishing on a high note. The Braves should rebound next season with a healthier roster and more standard production from the likes of Matt Olson and Austin Riley. Perhaps Morton would stick around with hopes of seeing this Braves tenure through to its logical conclusion — one final World Series run before riding off into the sunset.

This has been a good, not great season for Morton individually. The Braves' starting rotation goes four-deep without Strider, that fifth spot tenuously occupied by 24-year-old rookie Spencer Schwellenbach (whose stock is rising rapidly). Morton could very well get the postseason nod over Reynaldo Lopez if the Braves are concerned about the innings or Lopez's relative lack of big-stage experience. But, alas, none of that matters if the Braves aren't in the playoffs, and Morton's consistency on the mound is waning. His 4.75 ERA is the lowest since 2010, his third season in the league.

Morton has meant a lot to this Braves team and he deserves a proper sendoff when the time comes. It could come sooner than later, though.

2. Max Fried

Max Fried is playing out the final year of his contract without an extension in place. After years of hand-wringing over this very moment, the Braves and Fried failed to gain traction on a long-term agreement. There's a world in which he re-signs in the offseason, but the odds feel slim. We have been building toward this breakup for a while.

The market for quality starting pitching is through the roof. Atlanta is not a cheap team, but Alex Anthopoulos tends to lock up his best players years in advance, avoiding the inherent uncertainty and volatility of the free agent market. Fried is going to field competitive offers from several contenders. The price is going to climb rather high. The Braves just might not pay it.

Even if the Braves do submit a competitive offer, Fried could decide he's had enough of Atlanta. The 30-year-old has always been complimentary of the team and the city, but the Braves basically passed up the chance to extend him. There have been contract disputes that linger in the mind as such a pivotal offseason approaches. If the Dodgers, for example, come with a pricey six-year offer and express profound interest in building a sustainable, mutually beneficial partnership with Fried, is he going to say no? I'd venture to guess no.

The Braves can soften the blow with Strider's return, but Fried is among the best pitchers in baseball when he's at the top of his game. At 7-6 in 19 starts this season with a 3.40 ERA, the southpaw's absence would be deeply felt. It's hard to fathom the Braves without Fried on the roster.

1. Brian Snitker

The Braves are approaching the danger zone with Brian Snitker, although his departure after this season is decidedly less likely than the other names on this list. The Braves extended him through 2025 and he's one of the best managers in baseball. Atlanta certainly won't fire him. Any parting of the ways would need to be mutual, or a straight-up retirement from Snitker.

In a recent Bleacher Report live stream, however, Jon Heyman said there is a belief around the league that Snitker could retire after next season. The seeds are planted; his future is already coming into question. If he's already thinking about calling it quits — and, to be clear, Snitker has earned that right — it stands to reason that he doesn't want to stick around a team toiling in mediocrity.

That would be a rather harsh assessment of the 2024 Braves, but missing the playoffs is a bad look, even with all the injuries that have piled up. Snitker's voice is not stale, but there have been valid complaints about certain lineup choices and bullpen methods during the season. He's managing with a hand tied behind his back, but all the same, this has probably been Snitker's most taxing campaign since taking over the lead job in Atlanta way back in 2016.

It's not impossible. Let's just say that. There is a chance that Atlanta and Snit decide to part a year earlier than expected, allowing the Braves to find a new voice after such a disappointing campaign. This all changes if Atlanta squeaks into the playoffs, but if the current standings hold, there will be hard questions asked and even harder decisions made in the Peach State.