I started watching baseball in 2001. 2010 was a bit of a renaissance for the team, as it spent the years prior to that wandering in the wilderness of mediocrity. But hey, at least 2001-2005 were good. So, who's your favorite Brave from that era? Difficulty: the guy had to be a Brave only somewhere from 2001-2009, and not before or after.
It was just announced this morning that the Major League Baseball Player's Association (MLBPA) has named Ronald Acuña Jr. "Comeback Player of the Year." And breakout rookie Drake Baldwin received the "Outstanding Rookie" award. If you can recall, Acuña's return to Truist started out (on the very first pitch) with a solo shot to left field back in May. This had the crowd erupting and at once gaining the hope that the offense has turned around for the season.
Well, we got some actual news on the managerial search earlier today but other than that, it still appears to be a case of a little smoke but not much of a fire - at least for now. Still, it's great to start seeing things start to get whittled down a bit in terms of candidates. With that being said, anything can happen (especially considering what's going on in San Francisco and Knoxville right now)
A recent MLB Trade Rumors article previewed the 2025-2026 shortstop free agent class, with names like Bo Bichette and Trevor Story. It's a good read for Atlanta Braves fans, given the question mark at shortstop. Ha-Seong Kim has an opt-out this offseason, and after a down year at the plate, his return to Atlanta is far from certain. With few strong options on the market, his decision will be one to pay close attention to.
The number of MLB managerial openings grew on Monday, with the somewhat unexpected news that Padres manager Mike Shildt is retiring. While this likely does not have a major impact on the Braves process to fill their own opening, it is one more attractive job for potential candidates to consider.
If there's one thing that definitely feels like it needs correcting over and over, it's the idea that Michael Harris II has declined consistently since his rookie year. He hasn't, but his results have. Harris won the 2022 NL Rookie of the Year award with 4.7 fWAR in 441 PAs... because he outhit his .335 xwOBA by an egregious amount. Only 12 other hitters with more PAs than Harris outhit their xwOBA by more that year. In 2023, his xwOBA went up but the wOBA went down, so 3.7 fWAR in 539 PAs.
Amidst the Atlanta Braves managerial buzz, Hall of Famer Chipper Jones told 680 The Fan that he has no interest in managing his former club. He did, however, make mention of possibly joining the staff as a hitting coach. It would not be Jones' first appearance on the staff. Beginning in 2021, he took on a part-time role as the Braves' hitting consultant. So, while Jones has ruled out managing the team, there is still a possibility he serves the team in some capacity.
The right shortstop could play 150+ games (well I guess we're all about that club 162, though right?), hit above average and field at least average shortstop level. The Braves lineup looked much better with Ha-Seong Kim rather than the more offensively-challenged group of Nick Allen, Orlando Arcia, and Luke Williams (although Vidal Brujan was decent). The right shortstop could add two or as many as eight wins to a playoff-adjacent team.
If we do our job the way we want to do it, [the media] won't have anything. Before Skip Schumaker was named [as the Rangers manager] last night, there were eight openings. I remember some other years where there were a bunch of manager openings but I can't remember there being this many. That's a lot of openings, a lot of turnover, a lot of places where you have to get permission to speak to other coaches. That makes it incredibly challenging.
My recent pull of cards have been eerily consistent. Last night, though, it took a turn and basically told me that my life is built on a house of cards, so when you no longer hear from me, you'll know why. I've been steadily learning cars without having to really look it up every time, but I've got a ways to go yet. My next goal is to do more involved card readings. One card doesn't give you a lot to go on, and the interpretation can be trickier.
In my opinion, I've always maintained both publicly and privately that Atlanta would likely stay in-house when it came to their next manager. The cynic in me figured that the writing was on the wall when Fredi González returned to the fold as the "new" third base coach for the Braves earlier this season. Even if it wasn't Fredi, Walt Weiss is here as well and while he's never sat in the big chair for the Braves, he has had that experience with the Rockies.
Spencer Strider took the mound for the final time in 2025, looking for further validation of his new pitching approach. Flamethrowing rookie Bubba Chandler started the game for the Pirates. Both pitchers started the game with a 1-2-3 first, but faced some more challenges in the second. Strider pitched around two singles and a hit-by-pitch with some help from a double-play to hold the Pirates scoreless through two.
The Braves are rolling with the same lineup as Friday, with Brett Wisely playing second base and batting ninth. Drake Baldwin starts at catcher again and bats cleanup as he looks to put the finishing touches on his NL Rookie of the Year case. The Pirates have yet to post their lineup, but they don't have a ton of offensive talent worth writing home about anyway.
It's a bit of a smart move on Atlanta's part, as doing this will save Harris a minor league option going forward and also get him a chance to actually (and hopefully) make one last appearance before the season ends. Harris has only pitched 2.2 innings across three appearances so far this season so the more appearances he can make at the big league level while he can, the better - even if it'll likely just be for this final moment of the season.
With two outs in the top of the seventh in a 5-2 game with the Pirates leading, the skies suddenly opened up at Truist Park and prompted a rain delay between the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh. Keep it right here as we will provide updates and let you know when things are scheduled to get back underway.
For the final time this season, the Atlanta Braves are gearing up for a three-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Truist Park. Though the Braves were eliminated from playoff contention a while ago, it will still be a fun one to watch since it will likely be Charlie Morton's last outing. There's nothing at stake for the Pirates, either, who enter play with a 69-90 record. Nonetheless, the series gets underway Friday night at 7:15 ET with Joey Wentz on the bump.
The Braves announced Thursday that they've claimed infielder Brett Wisely off waivers from the Giants and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett. Lefty Aaron Bummer was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL in order to create space on the 40-man roster. San Francisco designated Wisely for assignment earlier in the week. Wisely, 26, was a 15th-round pick by the Rays back in 2019.
The Astros were dealt a brutal blow yesterday when slugger Yordan Alvarez went down with an apparent ankle injury in the first inning. Alvarez is scheduled to get an MRI to determine the severity of the issue, though the star DH was already seen on crutches and in a walking boot in the clubhouse following last night's game. Even a minimum ten-day stint on the IL would push Alvarez's return right up against the end of the regular season,
