ATLANTA BRAVES
2025 finish: 76-86 (4th in NL East)
Manager: Walt Weiss (1st season)
Leading the front office: Alex Anthopoulos, president of baseball operations and general manager (7th season)
DOLLARS AND SENSE
Largest luxury tax hit: 3B Austin Riley ($21.2 million)
Top returning players: 1B Matt Olson (4.7 fWAR), OF Ronald Acuña Jr. (3.5), C Drake Baldwin (3.1)
Top returning starting pitchers: LHP Chris Sale (3.6), RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (2.4), LHP Joey Wentz (1.3)
Top returning relievers: RHP Raisel Iglesias (1.0), RHP Tyler Kinley (0.6), LHP Aaron Bummer (0.4)
ROSTER WATCH
Key additions: RHP Robert Suarez (free agent), OF Mike Yastrzemski (free agent), SS Mauricio Dubon (trade), C Jonah Heim (free agent), UT Jorge Mateo (free agent), RHP Ian Hamilton (free agent), LHP Danny Young (free agent), C Chadwick Tromp (minors), 1B Dominic Smith (minors), INF Kyle Farmer (minors), INF Aaron Schunk (minors), OF Ben Gamel (minors), OF Jose Azocar (minors), LHP Martín Pérez (minors), RHP Javy Guerra (minors), RHP Tayler Scott (minors)
Key losses: DH Marcell Ozuna (free agent), RHP Cal Quantrill (free agent), RHP Charlie Morton (free agent), OF Jake Fraley (free agent), RHP Pierce Johnson (free agent), RHP John Brebbia (free agent), RHP Alexis Díaz (free agent), OF Alex Verdugo (free agent), SS Nick Allen (trade)
Baseball America top-100 prospect(s): LHP Cam Caminiti (53), RHP JR Ritchie (84)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale delivers in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in North Port, Fla., Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
KEEP AN EYE ON
Jurickson Profar signed a three-year, $42 million deal before the 2025 season, drew a PED suspension four games into the season and the Braves lost seven games in a row in a dismal start that buried their season before it ever got off the ground. OF Ronald Acuña Jr., C Sean Murphy, 3B Austin Riley, 2B Ozzie Albies, LHP Chris Sale and RHPs Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Grant Holmes, Reynaldo Lopez and Joe Jimenez all missed significant time to injury as the Braves saw a string of seven straight postseason appearances snapped. Now Profar will miss all of 2026 after a second PED suspension and the Braves will have to double down to make sure the dominoes don’t fall like they did last year.
Still only 28 years old, the oft-injured Acuña hasn’t played a full season since winning the NL MVP with 41 homers, 73 steals and a 1.012 OPS. Getting back to that over a full healthy season will help the Braves weather not having Profar the entire year.
Health will also be important to a pitching staff that didn’t have anyone make more starts than RHP Bryce Elder’s 28 (5.30 ERA). Strider (4.45 ERA) made just 23 starts, Holmes (3.99 ERA) made 21, Sale (2.58) made 20 and Schwellenbach (3.09 ERA) made 17.
Fangraphs projection: 90.6 wins