The start of the 2025 MLB season has not been kind to the Atlanta Braves, as after the team's 6-3 loss against the Toronto Blue Jays, they're now 5-12 on the year, the third-worst record in the majors.
While vibes are incredibly low right now, there's reason to believe things will get better. Not only is Spencer Strider set to make his return after a year on the sidelines in Wednesday's series finale against the Blue Jays, but Ronald Acuña Jr. is inching his way back after missing substantial time himself.
Ronald Acuña Jr. was cleared to ramp up activity and begin progressing toward a rehab assignment. No timetable, but seems like he’s on schedule to return at some point in the next month, as we’d originally thought.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) April 15, 2025
The former MVP winner was just cleared to ramp up baseball activities and begin progressing toward a rehab assignment. There isn't a concrete timetable for his return to the Braves, but there seems to be a good chance that he'll be back sometime in May.
With that in mind, the pressure is on several Braves players to get going before Acuña's eventual return.
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3) Stuart Fairchild's Braves tenure might not be a long one
With Acuña injured and Jurickson Profar testing positive for PEDs, the need for outfield depth in Atlanta to surround Michael Harris II was apparent. Given that, the Braves made a minor early-season trade, acquiring the recently DFA'd Stuart Fairchild from the Cincinnati Reds. It's safe to say that the results have been underwhelming.
Fairchild has just one hit in 16 at-bats with Atlanta. Expectations weren't super high, given the fact that he had a subpar .654 OPS last season with the Reds and had just been DFA'd ahead of the trade, but Fairchild getting on base just once in 14 at-bats is not good at all.
Fairchild has had value over the course of his MLB career against left-handed pitching thanks to his .746 OPS against southpaws, but he's just 1-for-9 against left-handers thus far. He's going to get more opportunities to play, given the team's shallow outfield depth, but with him being out of options, it's entirely possible that he gets DFA'd when or even before Acuña comes back.
2) Bryan De La Cruz must step up to maintain a roster spot in Atlanta
Acuña was always set to miss the beginning of the year, but the Braves thought they had two outfield spots locked in with Profar and Harris on their roster. Profar's suspension made things more complicated than that. His injury forced Bryan De La Cruz into getting more at-bats than anyone could've expected over the first month of the season.
De La Cruz was expected to primarily platoon with Jarred Kelenic in the outfield with Acuña out, but he has started 11 of Atlanta's 17 games. Unfortunately, he has just nine hits, eight of which have been singles, in 45 at-bats. He has a .472 OPS.
De La Cruz is a player who set a career-high with 21 home runs last season, so there was reason to believe he'd provide a bit of thump at the dish. That, clearly, has not happened yet. The outfield situation will give him more opportunities to play for now, but he's likely going to be competing with Fairchild for a roster spot when Acuña does eventually return. De La Cruz having options could make him easier for Atlanta to part with, too, only adding to his pressure.
1) Eventually, Jarred Kelenic has to show something
The Jarred Kelenic trade came out of nowhere, and felt like a perfect fit for the former top prospect. Things didn't work out in Seattle, but Kelenic, joining a loaded Braves team, had a chance to finally live up to his insanely high potential. While Kelenic did set a career-high with 15 home runs last season, his .679 OPS was disappointing. It has only gotten worse this season.
The 25-year-old has gone 6-for-39 (.154 BA) and has struck out 17 times. It isn't only his fault that the Braves have disappointed, but he has struggled more than just about anyone in Atlanta's regular lineup.
Profar's suspension gives Kelenic the opportunity to continue playing when Acuña returns, but when Profar returns, he'll likely slot into the outfield regularly, thus leaving Kelenic without a spot. Given that, Kelenic would be wise to make it difficult to take him out of the lineup. Performing well in his current role which is tailored perfectly for him to succeed would go a long way.