The Braves are closing out the 2026 regular season with another NL East title in hand, their seventh in the last nine years, and postseason baseball is headed back to Truist Park next week. Atlanta will host either the Cubs, Padres, or Phillies with a chance to reach the NLDS for the first time since 2023.
For a season that started with big expectations, this one turned strange in a hurry. Spring Training injuries to Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Hurston Waldrep changed the outlook fast, and a lot of people around the club probably would have settled for simply surviving. Instead, Walt Weiss steadied everything in his first year as manager and guided the Braves back to October.
The biggest reason Atlanta got here was the group of players who weren’t supposed to carry this team.
When the pitching staff started taking hits, the Braves needed reinforcements from everywhere, and they found them. Bryce Elder turned in a strong bounce-back year.
Grant Holmes gave them stability. Martín Pérez, who signed a minor-league deal in the offseason, pitched like an All-Star the entire way.
The help didn’t stop there. Mauricio Dubon was a godsend in the first half.
Dominic Smith delivered some big early moments. Didier Fuentes developed into one of the best relievers in baseball, and Dylan Dodd arrived mid-season and quickly became arguably the team’s most dependable left-handed reliever.
That kind of shopping is part of what has defined Alex Anthopoulos’ run as general manager. He doesn’t always make the loudest moves, but he keeps finding useful players where others aren’t looking.
The best example came at the trade deadline, when the Braves landed Tyler Mahle for a sack of dirty laundry. It didn’t look like much at the time, and it probably didn’t make much noise nationally, but Mahle has been the club’s most important deadline pickup, posting a 1.28 ERA over eight starts.
Without him, the Braves might not have won the division. With him, they’re at least in position to make some noise in October.
If the under-the-radar additions were the season’s clear win, the most troubling development has been the slide of two core pieces.
Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley have meant too much to this organization for anyone to take pleasure in pointing out their struggles, but the numbers have become impossible to brush aside.
Albies came out blazing and, in early May, was hitting .333 with a .942 OPS. It looked like he had finally gotten all the way back.
Since May 6, though, he’s hitting just .215 with a .628 OPS. Injuries have been part of his story for years, and now he’s been a below-average hitter for three straight seasons.
With one year left on his contract after this season, the Braves may be nearing the end of the road with him.
Riley’s situation is even heavier because the commitment is much longer. He’s under contract through 2032 and making $22 million per year.
The production just hasn’t matched that deal. After hitting .220 with a .652 OPS over 153 games, he’s finishing a season that keeps sliding the wrong way.
His OPS has dropped from .861 in 2023 to .783 in 2024 to .737 in 2025, and this year has been the worst of the bunch.
For a team that found so many answers in unexpected places, those two names remain the biggest concern heading into the offseason.
In Other News...
Braves Wild Card Plans Just Changed With New Outfield Concern
The Braves outfield picture shifted quickly after the club brought in Lane Thomas and minor league pitcher Bailey Falter from the Royals for two minor league arms, a move meant to give Atlanta more depth heading into October. Thomas was supposed to be part of that mix right away, but a left intercostal strain suffered during batting practice has now sent him to the 10-day injured list and put his availability in doubt at exactly the wrong time.
With the Wild Card Series looming, Atlanta will have to sort out its postseason outfield plans without the player it had just added for reinforcements. Thomas is expected to miss the series, leaving the Braves to lean on other options already in the organization as they finalize a roster that looked different only a short time ago. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Bullpen Picture Just Got More Interesting In Gwinnett Finale
The Stripers season finale in Gwinnett had the kind of late movement that can make a box score feel more meaningful than the final result. Indianapolis beat Gwinnett 9-6, but the Braves Triple-A club pushed back late before giving up three runs in the ninth inning, turning what had been a tighter finish into another reminder of how fragile bullpen games can be at this time of year.
For Atlanta, the more interesting part was the collection of arms that took the mound as the organization keeps sorting through relief options. Michael Grove and Joe Jimnez were among the pitchers to get work, and James Karinchak was the one tagged with the loss after the ninth-inning swing. Games like this tend to matter beyond one afternoon in Gwinnett, especially when the bullpen picture is still being evaluated with the major league club in mind. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Still Have One Big Postseason Pitching Call To Settle
With the National League East wrapped up and a No. 3 seed in hand, the Braves can now turn fully to October planning, and most of the early outline is already in place. Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle are lined up to start the first two games of the Wild Card Series on extra rest, giving Atlanta a familiar one-two punch as the postseason begins.
The bigger question is what comes after that, if the series extends long enough to require a third game. Grant Holmes and Martn Prez are the names under consideration for that potential start, while Robert Suarez is still working back through a minor league rehab appearance and Bryce Elder is recovering from knee surgery with a possible return window that lines up with the NL Division Series. Matt Olson also added a notable regular-season milestone by joining an exclusive Braves group with multiple 40-homer seasons, a reminder that Atlanta heads into October with power in the lineup and at least one important pitching decision still hanging in the balance. [Read more 🡒]