Even though the Braves’ chances of making the playoffs this season seem very bleak, the Braves still have something to play for this season, and that’s momentum for 2026 to make sure what has transpired this season doesn’t happen next season.
Earlier today The Morning Shift talked about how the Braves still need to play well post All-Star break to build up some good momentum for next season, and also what the Braves can do to build towards next season.
“I don’t think anything is building for a run this year, so everything in my mind is about how do you make what happened in 2025 not be the story in 2026. I’d like to see Ozzie [Albies] get it going, or he’s at risk of being bought out. I’d like to see Michael Harris get it going. Obviously you’re trying Acuña [Ronald Acuña Jr.] deeper in the lineup you’ll see if that’s gonna have any impact.” Abe Gordon said
Abe continued by saying “You’re not gonna be able to fix the rotation this year, there’s just nowhere to go there. You’ve got so many guys hurt, not just hurt, guys are gonna miss almost the entirety of the rest of the season, so we’ve got keep it realistic about what you can afford when you’re pitching two bullpen games per week, you’ll probably bring up some young guys and see what they can do as you move forward, but right now you gotta get some positive momentum building.”
Don’t be surprised if you see the Braves just as Abe said continue to experiment with the lineup, or call up some young pitchers from the minor leagues, so they can have an opportunity to log some major league innings because even though the 2025 season probably won’t end in an eighth straight playoff appearance for the Braves they can still use the second half of the season to their advantage, and get a head start on 2026.