How the Braves captured the National League East

“But I mean we got hit hard, man. First day of spring training and it never stopped. Lost four starters, a left fielder, shortstop, catcher. That’s before we even started the season. But it created some opportunities for some guys and they thrived. And the guys that stepped in they created some great stories.”

Pitchers Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep and Joey Wentz all suffered injuries before or early in spring training. Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim injured his finger in a January fall. Catcher Sean Murphy had hip surgery last September and his recovery lingered into April. In March, outfielder Jurickson Profar was suspended 162 games for testing positive (a second time) for a performance-enhancing drug.

The Braves were already thought to be a fringe playoff-caliber team before those setbacks. The personnel issues did not strengthen their case for a return to postseason play.

But the Braves’ front office should be lauded in their efforts to sign some unheralded — and clearly overlooked — pieces.

Dominic Smith filled in as designated hitter in the early going and hit .338 in the season’s first month and .310 in May. Martín Pérez, a veteran left-hander, made the squad out of spring training, was designated for assignment after three appearances and two starts, then resigned with the club and became one of the rotation’s more reliable starters.

Jorge Mateo, now with the Rays, signed with the Braves in January on the heels of the Kim injury. He hit .347 in May.

At the catcher position, after Murphy broke a finger in May just days after returning from the offseason hip surgery, the Braves turned to Austin Wynns, Jair Camargo, Chadwick Tromp, Jonah Heim, Sandy León and Joey Bart to fill the void.

Shortstop Jim Jarvis, outfielders José Azócar and Eli White and designated hitter Rowdy Tellez, to name a few, all played parts along the way, too.

And then there’s utility man Mauricio Dubón who has done a little bit of everything at the plate and on the field for the bargain price of $6.1 million.

“We’ve had some guys grab hold of some opportunities, and that was the message in spring training when we were losing guys,” Weiss said. “It’s gonna create opportunities for guys and they’re gonna make the most of it. And they did.”

Of course, the core cast of characters did their part, too.

Center fielder Michael Harris II is having the best season of his career. First baseman Matt Olson performed like an MVP candidate at times en route to another 40-homer season. Second baseman Ozzie Albies didn’t hit at a high clip, but is fourth on the team in homers (22) and RBIs (72). Ronald Acuña Jr., slowed by a hamstring injury most of the season, has been on an offensive tear the past three weeks when the Braves needed him most. Catcher Drake Baldwin proved his 2025 National League rookie of the year performance was no fluke.

No one in that group ever explicitly said the team was on a mission to prove 2025 was an anomaly. But the disappointment and distaste of that season certainly lingered into this one.

“I think it’s just knowing what kind of team we are, and the way that the year ended last year made us a little more hungry,” Harris said of how 2026 all came together. “We always knew what talent we had, and if we do the right things, we’d in this position.”

On the pitching side, Bryce Elder had an outstanding start to the season before battling through a troublesome right knee issue in recent weeks. Grant Holmes has gotten stronger as the season has progressed. The Braves traded for Tyler Mahle at the trade deadline and he has been virtually unhittable since putting the tomahawk across his chest. Ace Chris Sale will be in the Cy Young Award conversation again.

In the bullpen, Atlanta had arguably one of the best units in the National League, if not all of baseball. Closer Raisel Iglesias was supported primarily by Dylan Lee, Dylan Dodd and Didier Fuentes. There were dozens more along the way who recorded pivotal outs and ate key innings.

All that equated to the Braves being one of the best teams in the National League, a team that will have led the division for nearly six months when all is said and done.

“You just see all the hard work we put in up and down the order, and all the hard work the staff does,” Baldwin said. “There’s a ton of talent, and the talent works hard as well. So people are locked-in, they want to win, and it’s paid off and it’s been a pretty successful year.”

The work, of course, is far from over.

Tuesday marks the start of the final week of the regular season for the Braves (92-64). They are scheduled to play three games at Truist Park against the Reds then wrap the slate with three games in Miami against the Marlins starting Friday.

Those final six contests will give Weiss a chance to rest some of his regulars at times, but also give the team’s starting pitchers an opportunity to sharpen their focus ahead of the playoffs which likely begin for the Braves on Sept. 29 at Truist Park. Finishing the first season strong, before the second season begins, holds weight, too.

“We got to keep our foot on the gas. We’ll try to balance that now that we’ve clinched,” Weiss said. “But you can’t ever let your guard down in this league because the game will embarrass you. So we got to keep our foot on the gas and try to keep this momentum going.”