The Atlanta Braves lost 5-4 on Wednesday night to lose the best-of-three Wild Card series in two games to the San Diego Padres, despite a late game rally.
The Braves started off the game with a 1-0 lead after the first inning, with a Marcell Ozuna sacrifice fly that scored Michael Harris Ⅱ. However, a five run second inning from the Padres saw the Braves fall behind 5-1 and remove Max Fried from the game. Jorge Soler hit a solo homerun in the fifth inning and Harris Ⅱ hit a two run homer in the eighth inning to bring the game within one run. They couldn’t complete the comeback, however, as Robert Suarez closed out the game for the Padres in the ninth inning.
Atlanta started the season as one of the favorites to compete for the World Series, but a myriad of injuries caused the Braves to never pick up the necessary momentum they needed to make a deep run in October. They were left without reigning National League Most Valuable Player Ronald Acuña Jr. and NL Cy Young hopeful Spencer Strider all season. They were also left without long-time set-up pitcher A.J. Minter and star third baseman Austin Riley for the Wild Card series.
The injury woes continued for the Braves, even after making the playoffs. This season’s probable NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale was left off of the Braves’ Wild Card roster due to back spasms.
This postseason’s results uphold a negative trend of playoff losses, three seasons after unexpectedly winning the World Series in 2021. After losing to the Phillies in the NLDS in the back-to-back postseasons following their title run, the Braves will now watch their NL East rival battle it out with another NL East rival, the New York Mets.
As they look towards the offseason, the Braves will have multiple important decisions to make, especially when it comes to the team’s pitching staff.
Starting pitcher Charlie Morton is a free agent and at age 40, his future, not only with the Braves but as a major league player, is in question.
However, the elephant in the room all season has been the looming question about Fried.
Fried, the Braves’ long-time ace, was traded traded to the Atlanta from the Padres in 2014, before making his major league debut in 2017. In his time in Atlanta, Fried has accumulated two all star appearances, three Gold Glove awards, a Silver Slugger award and two top-5 Cy Young award finishes.
One of the league’s most consistently productive pitchers, Fried will command a huge contract in this year’s free agency and will have multiple suitors around the league.
Braves’ General Manager Alex Anthopoulos has been praised for his ability to give long-term contracts to the Braves’ young players, including Acuña Jr and Harris Ⅱ, but has also allowed fan favorite players Dansby Swanson and Freddie Freeman to leave in previous offseasons. This leaves Fried’s future with the Braves uncertain as many teams will try to court one of the best pitchers in this year’s free agency class.
As for the rest of the roster, there seems to be some more straightforward choices. Ozuna and catcher Travis d’Arnaud are on club options, which the team will be expected to pick up for them to play next season.
This offseason is expected be a busy one for Anthopoulos and the Braves as they will try to make the necessary roster moves to get the team back into World Series contention for the 2025 season.