The Braves’ champagne celebration on Sunday afternoon came with a reminder of how this season was built: manager Walt Weiss kept hammering the same point from spring training onward - overcome adversity.
Atlanta did exactly that, finishing off its first division title since 2023 after holding a near wire-to-wire lead in the NL East. Weiss, in his first season as the man in charge, led the celebration with a toast that praised his players. But the bigger story is the job he did guiding the club through a year full of setbacks.
Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy is the odds-on favorite for NL Manager of the Year, and he’s chasing a third straight award. Still, the case here is that the honor should go to Weiss.
Before the season, plenty of observers had the Mets or Phillies winning the division. That made Atlanta’s path back to the playoffs anything but routine, especially after the turbulence of the previous two seasons.
Then came the injuries. The Braves’ rotation was hit immediately, and the losses kept piling up from there.
Atlanta had to get through stretches without Ronald Acuña Jr., Drake Baldwin, and Robert Suarez. With that much talent unavailable at different points, it would have been easy for the season to drift.
Instead, Weiss kept the team on top of the NL East for most of the regular season. The Brewers may have the league’s best win total, but Atlanta’s manager squeezed just about everything possible out of his roster.
With six games left, the Braves ranked 21st in position player fWAR. Their patched-together pitching staff finished 13th in FIP and ninth in fWAR. That’s the striking part: a 92-win team with a week remaining never had one overwhelming area to carry it.
Weiss’s rise only adds to the case. He believed he might not get another chance to manage after leaving Colorado in 2016. In Atlanta, he became an important part of Brian Snitker’s staff, and when players pushed for him to get the top job this offseason, the front office listened.
Now, in his first shot at running a club since 2016, Weiss has shown he knows how to steer a team through a long, difficult season. On the strength of that work, he should be the NL Manager of the Year.
In Other News...
Braves Fans Got A Clearer Look At Who Helped Gwinnett Matter
The Gwinnett Stripers finished their minor league season at 76-73, giving Braves followers a useful look at a farm club that stayed relevant deep into the summer. Gwinnett was one of just two Atlanta affiliates to post a winning record in 2026, and that mattered because the Stripers were often the organizations most visible proving ground for players moving up, moving through, or trying to get back on track.
Brewer Hicklen and Owen Murphy ended up taking the top honors, with Hicklen earning hitter of the year after a .302 season with 18 home runs and 30 stolen bases, and Murphy named pitcher of the year after working to a 3.07 ERA with 94 strikeouts. The broader picture was just as encouraging for Atlanta, with several other contributors turning in notable seasons and a number of major leaguers passing through Gwinnett along the way, giving Braves fans a clearer sense of who helped keep the affiliate mattering. [Read more 🡒]
Robert Suarez Has Become A Huge Braves October Decision
Robert Suarez took another step back toward Atlanta on Sunday, turning in a scoreless inning for Gwinnett and flashing the kind of velocity the Braves have been waiting to see as he works his way back from injury. With the minor-league season now over, the clubs next move is more about timing and trust than pure rehab, and general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Suarez is likely to be activated soon, perhaps by midweek.
For the Braves, the question is whether that means enough to make him part of the postseason picture. October roster spots are hard to earn this late in the process, especially for a reliever still proving his body is ready, and Suarezs return will force the front office and coaching staff to weigh upside against certainty as they settle on the group they want for the postseason. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Face A Few Tough October Roster Calls Fans Will Debate
The Braves have already locked up the NL East and are positioned to host a Wild Card Series, which makes the next few weeks less about survival and more about sorting out the October details. Around a club that expects to play deep into the postseason, even the supporting pieces matter, from the starting pitchers who will frame the series to the bullpen arms, catchers, infielders and outfielders who make the final cut.
Some of those calls will come down to recent performance, some to health, and some to how Atlanta wants to balance versatility against specialization once the games tighten up. The idea of carrying a third catcher is part of that conversation, and so are the roles for a handful of players whose late-season form has made the roster picture a little less settled than it looked a month ago. [Read more 🡒]