The Atlanta Braves season will begin Thursday afternoon in San Diego as the 2025 campaign begins. Chris Sale has been named as the Opening Day starter on the heels of an incredible 2024 season. Atlanta is still waiting for the return of Spencer Strider. This is not the only injury that will alter the start of Atlanta's season, with Chadwick Tromp and Drake Baldwin starting the season as the team's options at catcher.
Sean Murphy suffered a spring training injury that will force the starter to miss the first weeks of the season. Atlanta's outfield will look a bit different as well with Ronald Acuna Jr. not expected to make his return until May. With all of this in mind, the Braves' 2025 campaign is facing a number of concerns the team must be ready to find answers for as the season begins.
1. What Version of Orlando Arcia Shows Up for the 2025 Season?
It is easy to forget just how offensively great Atlanta shortstop Orlando Arcia was at the start of the 2023 season. Arcia was named an All-Star due to the great start and was. This would fade into a consistent lack of offensive production in the second half of the season. Still, the team could overlook the struggles in such a loaded lineup. All Arcia needed to do was offer a handful of clutch moments and play stellar defense.
His bat was easy to hide at the bottom of the Atlanta lineup. However, this became far more difficult when the team dealt with injuries in the 2024 season. Dealing with far less protection Arcia's numbers cratered. The shortstop was a consistent liability, and the defense wasn't great enough to continue to deal with this level of struggle.
Brian Snitker made it clear that the Braves do not care about Arcia's concerning spring stats. This is consistent with Snitker's character and does speak to how misleading spring can become. Still, we aren't simply looking at the spring stats but the end of the 2023 season as well as the entirety of 2024. Arcia has proven to be a liability, and if this doesn't change, the Braves are going to have to make a move at the position.