Atlanta featured a record-setting team in 2023 but wasn't able to get over the hump in the postseason. The 2024 edition of the Braves will look to repeat its regular season success while also finishing the deal when October rolls around. Ultimately, this team has all the tools to get the job done.
"The Braves have one have one of the greatest rosters ever assembled," Steak said. "This year's roster added some pieces [in left fielder Jarred Kelenic and pitchers Chris Sale and Reynaldo López] and you lost nobody."
The pitching rotation, in particular, figures to be a more formidable group this season. The Braves played a majority of last season without its ace after Max Fried hit the injured list early on. That group hardly missed a beat with the strikeout maestro Spencer Strider leading the way, and then only got deeper with the addition of seven-time All-Star, Chris Sale.
Despite the obstacles, the rotation was still a relative strength for the Braves, but the real strength was its offense.
In 2023, the Braves won 104 games powered by one of the best lineups in the history of baseball. They tied the MLB record for home runs in a season (307), broke the record for team slugging percentage (.501), and became the second team in MLB history to record five different players with 30 or more home runs. They led the Majors in hits, home runs, RBIs, batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS.
In 2024, they return virtually that entire group with an upgrade in left field in Kelenic.
"You add [Kelenic] to Ozzie, Austin, Olson, Murphy, and Acuña," Steak continued. "It's an embarrassment of riches."
The quest for the seventh-straight National League East title, and second World Series title in four years, begins today.