Notable MLB Podcast Keeps Expectations High for Braves' 2025 Season

The Braves medicore 2024 season hasn't kept some from staying high on the Braves heading into next season

It's hard for some to count the Braves out / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

This offseason has not spelled much interest in how much better the Atlanta Braves could be next season. There have been no notable offseason acquisitions and it’s almost the new year. However, that hasn’t stopped one notable baseball podcast from staying high on them. 

Host of Foul Territory and former MLB catcher Erik Kratz spoke highly of the Braves’ ability to overcome last season’s adversities. They went from multiple all-stars to seeing those same players nearly all get hurt. Despite this, they still made the postseason. 

“This year, Ronald Acuña goes down. Austin Riley goes down. Spencer Strider goes down - to name the big guys that went down for the majority of the season, Kratz said. “And yet they still made the playoffs. I get that last day, doubleheader game. It was amazing that they made it, but it was amazing how many injuries they had and how many down years they had and they still made the playoffs.”

Along with that quote, the Foul Territory X (formerly Twitter) admin included the sentence, “The Braves could be a problem in 2025.”

The idea here is that if this is how the Braves played with all the issues last season, they’ll be back to their usual business next season. 

They finished 89-73 on the season, which was good enough to earn them second place in the National League East and the second Wild Card in the NL. In comparison, a healthy Braves team the season before, albeit with a lot of guys having career years at once, finished 104-58 and won the NL East crown. 

So, there is merit to the argument.

However, there are still some key differences. For one, Max Fried is no longer in the starting rotation and Charlie Morton’s return is up in the air. Joe Jimenez won’t be available. AJ Minter is a free agent and there’s no guarantee he re-signs. Eddie Rosario is no longer in the picture and there’s little confidence that Orlando Arcia will be effective at the plate again. 

These are just the top examples. We could split hairs even further if we wanted to.

But it is true that if they can stay healthy, they will objectively be better, even without additions. Some of the injuries, such as Austin Riley being hit by a pitch on the hand or Ozzie Albies getting hurt on a tag play, were freak. So, the likelihood of them being contributors again is pretty solid. Strider had minimal injury history before last season and is taking the time to properly heal. Once he’s back, he should be a reliable arm again. 

It’s doubtful they’ll win 104 games again. It would take some quality offseason acquisitions to make that happen. 

That being said, there is a reason why the oddsmakers are setting the over/under for their season at 94.5. That’s one of the highest over/under lines among MLB teams. 

Winning five more games sounds pretty reasonable. The team has talent on the team capable of making that improvement and it might be enough of an improvement. The Phillies won the division with 95 games, so the Braves would be on their heels.   

To make it clear, the Braves could still use so upgrades this offseason. It’s not great seeing division rivals make upgrades when they don’t. But this at least provides the reality check this team isn’t in as dire of a position as last season’s finish would lead you to believe.