Braves 'barely hanging on,' called 'disappointment'; Labeled unfairly?

There are two ways to look at the 2024 Atlanta Braves.

On one hand, Atlanta’s season has been a disappointment thus far due to a slew of injuries. On the other hand, the Braves are still a playoff team, despite all of the misfortune, a miraculous outcome that should breed optimism.

Major League Baseball analysts are subsequently divided on how to view Atlanta.

Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer leans towards pessimism, releasing a report on Sunday that called the Braves one of the year’s 10 biggest disappointments.

“It does feel a little wrong to label Atlanta's season as a disappointment, given just how big of a role the injury bug has played,” Rymer said. “Their injured list seems to contain nothing but stars, including (Ronald) Acuña (knee) and Spencer Strider (elbow) with season-enders and Ozzie Albies (wrist) and Austin Riley (hand) with broken bones.”

“At the same time, injuries only do so much to explain Atlanta's offensive decline. From 2023 to 2024, they're the single biggest decliner in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Reigning MLB home run champion Matt Olson has had a rough one, and so were Acuña and Riley even before their injuries. … A team that was meant to be great is barely hanging on to a wild-card spot at 70-59.”

Then there’s Bob Nightengale of USA Today who also wrote about the Braves on Sunday, albeit in a more positive light.

“Atlanta lost ace Spencer Strider after two starts and reigning MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. in May,” Nightengale said. “They’re without third baseman Austin Riley and second baseman Ozzie Albies. They went two months without center fielder Michael Harris and catcher Sean Murphy. One-third of their current lineup is filled with players who were released this season. And Atlanta entered Sunday just five games behind the Philadelphia Phillies.”

For Braves fans, Nightengale’s approach is surely the more rewarding.

If Atlanta can finish the season strong and secure a playoff berth, they’ll be playing fall ball without any pressure, something that other National League teams should be wary of.

More MLB: Could Braves manager retire next year? 'Decent chance', says insider