Where do Braves go from here? 5 key questions for '25 -- and beyond

This was supposed to be the Braves’ shining moment, the opportunity to show off what they’ve built, and what is thriving, out in Cobb County, Ga.

They’ve got a beautiful stadium in Truist Park. They’ve got a thriving business community outside the stadium. They’ve got an avid fan base that the whole world got to see during the thunderously loud 2021 World Series. And they’ve got a team that won 104 games two seasons back -- a team that seemingly should still be at its peak.

A lot of that is still true as the baseball world descends on Truist Park this week for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. Yet the actual team itself is not in a good place. The Braves entered Wednesday a disastrous 39-51, in fourth place in the NL East -- 13 games behind the Mets and Phillies and even three games behind the Marlins. Atlanta sat 10 1/2 games out in the NL Wild Card race, leading only the Pirates, Nationals and Rockies. A team that started the season 0-7 just hasn’t been able to get itself out of the mud since.

In 2023, the Braves looked like the team that, because it had inked its young stars to long-term contract extensions, was destined to rule the NL East in a way not dissimilar to those Atlanta clubs from the 1990s. Then came a disappointing 2024 season, one that showed some cracks in the foundation of this whole Braves project, even as the team still squeezed into a Wild Card berth.

This season, though? It’s a dark time for the Braves, at the moment when we’re all paying the closest attention to the franchise. That 2021 title was supposed to be the start of the dynasty, but now it almost seems like a happy accident.

So where do the Braves go from here? Here are five questions moving forward.

1. Do they actually sell at the Deadline? If so, to what extent?

It is at least theoretically possible that the Braves could make one last mad dash for the playoffs, with FanGraphs' postseason odds giving them a 3.9% chance entering Wednesday’s action. But it’s far more likely that they’re going to start shipping guys out. But whom? MLB.com’s Mark Bowman pointed to free-agent-to-be Marcell Ozuna, who, inconveniently, has seen his offensive numbers tumble after great seasons in 2023-24. He has still been an above-average hitter, though; someone could definitely use him in their DH spot.

If the Braves are feeling really aggressive -- and they can find a taker -- they could look into moving second baseman Ozzie Albies, particularly because there’s a real chance they do the once-unthinkable and not pick up his $7 million option for next year. Veteran closer Raisel Iglesias will probably be on the table as well. But none of those guys are going to bring in that much -- certainly not enough to replenish a farm system that MLB Pipeline ranked No. 26 before the season (a ranking that included catcher Drake Baldwin, who has now graduated from that system.

The Braves may be “active” before July 31. But they might not make as much of a dent as they’d like to.

2. They can't get injured like this every year ... can they?

Last year, the Braves had so many injuries that it felt like they had done something to offend the gods, like they’d accidentally stepped on an ancient, cursed amulet. But then it happened again this year. Now, the Braves are no stranger to injuries, and overcoming them: You may remember them winning a World Series without Ronald Acuña Jr. not so long ago.

But this is becoming overwhelming, again: Chris Sale, Reynaldo López, Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver, basically their entire starting rotation. Oh, and now it looks like Acuña might be hurt again, although the severity was not clear as of this writing.

The Braves made all sorts of smart long-term plans and have watched them be roiled by injuries in two consecutive seasons. It’s just bad luck, right? There isn’t really a cursed amulet? Right? Right?

3. Can some of these long-term pieces turn things around again?

Oh, yes, about those smart long-term plans. The Braves earned a lot of praise, and for good reason, for securing the services of star players such as Acuña, Albies, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, Spencer Strider and Michael Harris II on long-term deals before they hit arbitration. The idea was sound: Get them on your team, sign them to cost-effective deals when they’re young and watch the whole core grow old together.

But in practice, the deals are starting to curdle. Strider has endured health issues, as has Acuña. Riley, Murphy and especially Albies and Harris have not progressed the way the Braves had hoped and in some cases have fallen off a cliff entirely. What once looked like savvy contract extensions now look alarmingly like albatrosses.

The Braves can try to cobble together some pieces to help out their roster in the coming years, but what they need more than anything is for those players to start playing the way the Braves thought they would when those deals were signed.

4. Will they be bold in trying to capitalize on Acuña’s prime?

What kind of roster cobbling are they going to be able to do, anyway? The payroll, even with the extensions, isn’t so overstuffed that they can’t go out and get some help. But how aggressive will they be? Trading for Sale was a brilliant move, but that big contract they gave Jurickson Profar is not looking great right now. Will they be willing and/or able to spend big?

That might seem like a little bit of folly -- again, that’s what they were trying to do with Profar, and to be fair, that contract has two more years after this one to pay off. Yet this is the obligation that comes with having a transcendent, 27-year-old star like Acuña (one who, we remind you, is signed through 2026, with options through 2028) on your roster. The Braves are going to have the best Acuña we’ll see over the next few years, Acuña in his absolute prime. Don’t they have to give him the best possible opportunity to win his own World Series in that time?

5. When will there be a fresh voice (and vibes) in the dugout?

Brian Snitker has assured his place in Braves history. He’s third on the franchise’s all-time managerial wins list, and he has almost the exact same winning percentage as Hall of Famer Bobby Cox (and the exact same number of World Series titles).

But it is fair to wonder if Snitker, who will turn 70 in October, is the man for this team moving forward. There have been high-profile disagreements with Acuña, but even aside from those, 10 years with any team is a long time. (Only the Rays’ Kevin Cash and Dodgers’ Dave Roberts have longer active tenures with a single team.)

One problem with this year’s team has been a perceived lack of urgency. Is a new manager a path to fixing that? Because it’s time, probably starting right now, for the Braves to get a lot more urgent.