If there was ever a game that exposed the Atlanta Braves front office, it was Sunday's series finale against the Colorado Rockies. Grant Holmes pitched a great game, allowing only two earned runs over 6.1 innings while striking out 15 Rockies in a performance that cemented the starter in the team's history books.
However, Sunday's 10-1 Rockies win was highlighted by the worst team in baseball easily piling up runs on the Atlanta pen. Enyel De Los Santos gave up four earned runs without retiring a batter in one of the biggest moments of the season.
Atlanta badly needed a sweep to reclaim momentum and prepare for a showdown with the National League East division leader, the New York Mets. However, this wasn't the end of the meltdown, with Craig Kimbrel's replacement, Jose Ruiz, being called on when the game was out of hand. Ruiz managed to pitch just one inning and gave up three additional runs.
The Braves would use Aaron Bummer and infielder Luke Williams to get through the rest of the game. Rarely has there been such a glaring example of Atlanta's continuing front office cheapness.
Braves' Penny-Pinching Has Cost Atlanta Any Hopes of 2025 Contention
Atlanta's choice not to add a single meaningful arm to the 2025 bullpen was always an incredibly odd offseason decision. The team could have easily taken the money wasted on Jurickson Profar and made two notable improvements to better set up manager Brian Snitker to have a chance to have some idea of who he could rely on. However, the team opted to save money and refused to make the obvious upgrades.
This has shown up throughout the 2025 season, both in the bullpen and at the bottom of the Braves' lineup. Sunday's loss was such a defining example of this; it is hard to pick a better game that shows exactly what the problem is for the Atlanta roster. In a series against the league's worst team, the Braves scored a single run and watched as the bullpen imploded in the final innings.
It is a team lacking depth or the needed leadership and fire to turn a miserable 2025 season in the right direction. While a small piece of this is underperforming veterans, the bigger piece of blame belongs squarely on the shoulders of Atlanta's front office and ownership groups. Choosing to prioritize saving money over building a roster capable of taking advantage of the team's talent. A continued frustration for a fan base that is already giving up on what appears to be a lost season.