The Atlanta Braves are once again considered a strong World Series contender for the 2025 season. Their lineup is expected to return to form after a down and injury-plagued 2024. The pitching staff, however, provides a few more questions than usual heading into the regular season.
The starting rotation took a hit with the departure of Max Fried and the club did not replace him with a proven talent on his level. The team is counting on Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez repeating their dominant 2024 campaigns as well as newcomers Grant Holmes and AJ Smith-Shawver become regular contributors to the rotation. The team pulled the plug this week on Ian Anderson by trading him to the Angels.
The team's bullpen also took a hit by losing setup men A.J. Minter to the Mets and Joe Jiminez to a severe knee injury. Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee are expected to take bigger late-inning roles to try and fill the void. There's no doubt the Braves will be a good team once again in 2025 but there are may more questions around the pitching staff than usual.