How Braves are shaping up ahead of 2024 postseason

This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHILADELPHIA — When the Braves were saying, “World Series or bust” during Spring Training, they were making it clear their hopes extended far beyond winning another National League East title.

Well, their bid to win a seventh straight division crown was significantly damaged when they lost three of four to the Phillies this past weekend. But considering all that has happened during this injury-ravaged season, they are entering the season’s final month with reason to believe they can still achieve their initial goal.

“The fact we’re playing meaningful games with everything that we’ve been through, I think, is good in itself,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “This thing could have turned the other way really quickly with all the losses we’ve had. We’ve hung there and stayed relevant. We’ll see what happens.”

Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna, Orlando Arcia and Jarred Kelenic are the only members of the Opening Day lineup (Spencer Strider included) who will not have missed at least two months by the end of this season. The five position players who will have missed this much time are Ronald Acuña Jr., Austin Riley, Michael Harris II, Sean Murphy and Ozzie Albies.

It truly is remarkable that the Braves would have a playoff spot if the season ended today. But they have a one-game lead over the Mets in the battle for the final NL Wild Card spot entering Monday.

Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos built what had the potential to be a great roster. Injuries are expected, but not at this volume. At the same time, the Braves have gotten more than anyone could have ever expected from key offseason additions Chris Sale and Reynaldo López.

With Sale, López, Max Fried, Spencer Schwellenbach and Charlie Morton, the Braves have the starting pitching necessary to enjoy a long, successful run through the postseason. Morton might be the odd man out once the playoff starts; the team only needs to carry four starters.

But Schwellenbach and Morton both provide the quality depth that didn’t exist in 2022, when the Braves sent Strider to the mound to start Game 3 of the NL Division Series despite the fact he had barely thrown off a mound since straining his oblique a few weeks earlier. The Braves were also weakened by the virus that caused Fried to lose 15 pounds at the end of the regular season.

Last year’s NLDS loss to the Phillies could be pinned on the fact that an offense that had been compared to the 1927 Yankees performed more like the 2024 White Sox. But having to start Bryce Elder in Game 3 because of Morton’s finger ligament injury also didn’t help.

Morton suffered the injury during the regular season’s second-to-last weekend. That was the same weekend we learned Fried was bothered by a blister.

So it’s not just about reaching the postseason for the Braves. It’s about reaching the postseason with their rotation intact.

Grant Holmes limited the Giants to two runs over seven innings on Aug. 14. That marked the last time the Braves had anybody other than their current five rotation members make a start. Their starters have posted a 2.73 ERA over the 17 games that have followed.

Extra rest put Sale and López in position to still be strong at this point of the year. But they haven’t been affected by the team’s decision to stop creating extra days for the starters. Sale has a 1.73 ERA in his past four starts, three of which have been made with regular rest. López has a 1.59 ERA in the three starts he’s made since returning from the injured list stint that doubled as a much-needed three-week rest.

Regardless of what seed the Braves might be if they make the postseason, there isn’t an NL playoff team that will look forward to seeing Sale, López and Fried during the first three games of a postseason series.

So even though a division title might not be part of this year’s journey, the Braves’ World Series hopes have not yet busted.