The Braves have hit a rough patch at the wrong time, and the latest two losses only sharpened the questions hanging over the club. A tough defeat to the Nationals on Tuesday kicked off the skid, and with two high-stakes series against the Phillies still ahead, Atlanta would love to keep building its NL East cushion instead of leaning on the softer finish to the schedule.
Even with the results slipping, there’s still plenty happening around the roster. Some of it is unsettling. Some of it is just strange.
Dylan Lee, who figures to matter a great deal if the Braves make a playoff push, has been scuffling lately, and the concern around him has grown. The good news is that Lee doesn’t believe the issue is tied to his arm or his health.
The bad news is that the problem may be harder to solve than a simple rest-and-recover fix. Lee said he thinks he may be tipping his pitches, with opposing hitters potentially reading what he’s doing in the second half.
That at least gives Atlanta a reason for the drop-off, but it also leaves the Braves with a new problem to solve quickly: figure out how he’s giving things away, then clean it up before it costs them more.
Orlando Arcia is also back in the news, though not in a Braves uniform. Atlanta moved on from the shortstop experiment in May 2025 after Arcia had shown flashes in 2022 and 2023 before fading badly.
Since then, he’s had a hard time sticking anywhere, with stops that didn’t work out with the Rockies and Twins, plus a stint in the Mexican League to keep his career going. Now the Reds are giving him another shot, signing him to a minor league deal and sending him to Triple-A for the time being.
The pitching picture may be even more unsettled. AJ Smith-Shawver’s return from the injured list had given the Braves hope that they might have some depth behind Chris Sale, but that optimism has cooled.
Smith-Shawver has shown moments of promise since coming back, yet he’s still not close to being fully back in form. After the Nationals scored five runs on him over four innings, Walt Weiss was careful not to lock anything in when asked about Smith-Shawver’s place in a potential playoff rotation.
Weiss described the club’s starting-pitching evaluation as “day-to-day stuff” and also pointed to Reynaldo Lopez’s impending return as another piece of the postseason puzzle.
In Other News...
Braves Face A Bigger Acua And Albies Question Than 2027
The Braves next big roster decision might not be whether Ronald Acua Jr. and Ozzie Albies are back in 2027, because the club options on both players make that part of the equation look fairly straightforward. Acuas option is valued at $17 million, Albies at $7 million, and both are widely expected to be picked up after the 2026 season, keeping two familiar faces in Atlanta for at least one more year.
The trickier question is what comes after that, and it is one Atlanta has every reason to keep circling. Albies is headed toward free agency in 2028 if he is not extended, while Acuas team control beyond 2027 is limited, leaving the Braves to weigh performance, durability and long-term payroll planning all at once. Even with the near-term answers seemingly in place, the bigger issue is how much longer the club can count on both players as pillars of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Prospect Eric Hartman Is Suddenly Forcing His Way Onto The Radar
MLB Pipelines All-Breakout team is the latest reminder that prospect lists can change fast once the season starts and players begin forcing the issue. Among the names earning that recognition is Eric Hartman, whose rise this year has put him in the same conversation as a broader group of minor leaguers who have taken meaningful steps forward relative to where they stood in the preseason.
For the Braves, Hartmans inclusion matters because it signals real momentum, not just a hot stretch. He is part of a class of prospects whose performance has started to reshape how theyre viewed across the minors, and that kind of upward move can alter a teams internal picture in a hurry. The only question now is how long he can keep turning that attention into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Roster Rules Are Creating A Late-Season Problem For Atlanta
The Braves have begun sorting through September roster decisions with a little less flexibility than teams used to have, adding right-hander Blake Burkhalter and infielder Kyle Farmer while shifting Robert Suarez to the 60-day injured list. It is the kind of move that feels routine on paper, but it also reflects how much the modern rules have changed the end-of-season playbook, especially for clubs trying to balance health, matchups and depth in a stretch run.
September used to offer more room to carry extra arms and a deeper bench, but the current limits have narrowed those choices to 28 active players and 14 pitchers. For Atlanta, that creates a more difficult late-season equation: every roster move has to do more than just fill a spot, and the lack of extra flexibility can shape how often certain players are used, how aggressively pitchers are managed and how the Braves navigate the final weeks. [Read more 🡒]