The Braves are getting a major boost at exactly the right time.
After winning seven of their last 10 games and pushing their NL East lead to 5.5 games over the Phillies, Atlanta has brought Ronald Acuña Jr. back from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated him from the injured list. Brewer Hicklen was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to clear the spot.
Acuña’s return changes everything for this lineup. He’s still the best player on the team, and just having him back in the mix makes life tougher for opposing pitchers while making the job easier for the hitters around him. It also gives Walt Weiss more room to maneuver with his lineup, since Mauricio Dubon can now be used at shortstop or in the outfield instead of being locked into an everyday outfield role.
The timing lines up with a stretch in which the offense has started to wake up. For much of the last six weeks, the Braves got very little production behind the plate. Drake Baldwin missed a month because of an oblique injury, and even after he returned, it took him a while to settle back in.
July has looked different. Baldwin has recorded a hit in all but five games this month and is batting .341 with six home runs and a 1.017 OPS.
Austin Riley has also found his rhythm in the second half. Over his last 10 games, he has four multi-hit efforts and has reached base in eight of them.
He’s added three home runs, is hitting .308, and owns a .921 OPS during that stretch. That’s a sharp turnaround from a rough first half, when he struggled to stay above the Mendoza Line and posted a .618 OPS.
The good news extends beyond Atlanta’s major league roster, too. Tate Southisene is moving up to Double-A Columbus after being reported yesterday as headed there. The 19-year-old first-round pick from a year ago is now making his second promotion and continuing to build a case as the organization’s top prospect.
That move created an opening for Alex Lodise, the Braves’ second-round pick in the 2025 draft, to advance to High-A Rome. After a slow start, the former Florida State Seminole has caught fire and now has 21 home runs with an .826 OPS on the season.
In Other News...
Braves Trade Value List Is Going To Spark A Serious Debate
FanGraphs latest top-50 trade value ranking gave Braves fans plenty to chew on, with three Atlanta players making the cut and the usual mix of age, contract status and injury history shaping the order. Drake Baldwin landed the highest among the group, while Ronald Acua Jr. and Michael Harris II also appeared, giving the list a very different look than a simple talent ranking would.
The bigger eyebrow-raiser may be what was missing. Matt Olson, despite his production and team control, was left off the list entirely, a reminder that trade value is often as much about the calendar as it is about the box score. For a Braves roster built around star power, that kind of evaluation is bound to spark debate about how much long-term value still sits on the roster and where the market really sees the most appeal. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Shortstop Search Feels Headed For Another Frustrating Turn
The Braves have spent the better part of the post-Dansby Swanson era trying to settle the shortstop spot, and Jim Jarvis looked like a possible step toward stability during a promising three-week run in July. His recent opportunity had given Atlanta a fresh look at a position that has remained unsettled, with the club still searching for a long-term answer after years of turnover.
Baltimore, though, may have complicated that picture. Jarvis came out of the series against the Orioles with a rough weekend that snapped his momentum, and the defensive miscues stood out for a player who had otherwise been viewed as steady. Atlanta still has other paths it can take at shortstop, including Mauricio Dubn or a trade, but the latest turn only adds to the sense that this search may not be nearing a clean resolution. [Read more 🡒]
This Braves Stat Just Changed The Trade Deadline Conversation
The Braves have spent enough innings watching their offense go quietly that the trade deadline conversation is starting to sound different in Atlanta. Entering Sunday, they had already piled up 316 innings in which nobody reached base, a reminder that even a team with early-season success can still have too many empty stretches in the lineup. The issue is not one thing, either. It has shown up with Ronald Acua Jr. sidelined, with backup catchers struggling to give the lineup any lift, and with shortstop and third base both offering uneven production.
Austin Riley has been better since the All-Star break, but the broader picture still points to a club that may need a bat more than it first looked like it would. That is why the Braves are being linked to help at designated hitter or in the outfield, with names like Lane Thomas and Jo Adell among the possibilities, while the infield market could also come into play. The challenge now is figuring out whether Atlanta wants to patch one spot or address a lineup that has too often gone cold all at once. [Read more 🡒]