8 lingering thoughts on Braves' 2024 season

This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman's Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ATLANTA -- The Yankees’ outfield defense was supposed to bite them at some point and the Dodgers didn’t have enough pitching to win it all. These were just a couple of thoughts that developed over the months that preceded this year’s Yankees vs. Dodgers World Series matchup.

Uncertainty, frustration and doubt are the emotions felt by every fan base during the course of the long baseball season. The 2006 Cardinals finished five games above .500 (83-78) and won the World Series. The '01 Mariners finished 60 games above .500 (116-46) and then lost six of their nine postseason games.

You will occasionally encounter a team like the 2018 Braves, whose first-round playoff exit didn’t diminish all that was accomplished by abruptly ending a rebuild with an unexpected division title. But for the most part, the baseball season annually ends in disappointing fashion for all but one team.

Before jumping into the offseason over the weeks and months that follow, here are a few thoughts about the Braves' 2024 season:

1. The Opening Day roster might have been the best the Braves have ever had. You could argue the 1998 or 2003 clubs were stronger, but the tremendous potential of the '24 squad became clear, as this year’s team won 89 games despite having just six of its 10 Opening Day starting players (starting pitcher included) miss at least two months because of injuries.

2. Braves manager Brian Snitker created some laughs when he said, “We’re running out of next mans up” while discussing his club’s injury woes late in the season. He was challenged to find healthy options to fill out his lineup and rotation throughout the season. Then, when it seemed like things couldn’t get worse in August, his bullpen depth began to crumble.

It’s easy to manage when everything is going your way. There was nothing easy about what Snitker did this year, as he navigated the team through countless obstacles and reached the postseason for a seventh straight season.

3. Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos deserves credit for what he did during the offseason and within the season, by filling holes with veterans like Whit Merrifield, Ramón Laureano and Gio Urshela. His willingness to take a chance on Chris Sale and Reynaldo López enriched the season and, more importantly, gave the Braves a chance to remain World Series contenders for the next couple of years.

4. When Anthopoulos told us Sale threw a side session two days after the Braves had been eliminated, I received the expected, “What good does that do us now” responses on social media. This was actually a very significant development. Had this not occurred, I highly doubt I would have been the only one who'd go through the offseason skeptical about how the back ailment might negatively impact the left-hander during the winter and into next year. Remember, a key to Sale's success this year was the amount of work he was able to do during the offseason.

5. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Braves went through April without Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider.

With both of Acuña's anterior cruciate ligaments now surgically repaired, we may never see another 40-40 season from him. But even if his knees limit his speed, he should still be quite capable of remaining elite with both his arm and tremendous power.

As for Strider, the hope is he’ll return from an ulnar collateral brace procedure and prove he is still the game’s most exciting pitcher. Remember when it seemed like Strider might be best used as a reliever? Remember when he was expected to fatigue during his rookie season? Yeah, his return brings some uncertainty. But I’ve become certain that this young hurler is fueled by the chance to prove his critics wrong.

6. Jarred Kelenic is a former first-round selection who was one of the game’s top overall prospects just a few years ago. The Braves paid $17 million last winter for the chance to control him for five seasons. If we didn’t know all of this, we might look at the 15 homers and .679 OPS he produced this year and think, "He’s a pretty good fourth outfielder." The talent and skills are there, but we’re nearing a point where Kelenic might be considered just a backup outfielder. This is why the Braves will have to decide whether to stick with Laureano as their left fielder or find another option.

7. When Austin Riley fractured his hand on Aug. 18, I wrote that the Braves might have finally realized their crushing blow. Exactly one week earlier, A.J. Minter threw his last pitch before undergoing season-ending hip surgery. Minter’s absence was felt during the regular season’s final six weeks and again during the postseason. He would have been the best option to use as an opener against the Padres in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series.

8. When I told an American League scout that Charlie Morton was thinking about pitching again next year, the scout said, “Why shouldn’t he?” The assumption has been that Morton, who will turn 41 on Nov. 12, is ready to spend more time with his family. But if he’s willing to pitch again next year, he might be a short-term solution the Braves could use to account for Max Fried’s expected free-agent departure and the uncertainty surrounding Strider, Ian Anderson and other fifth-starter candidates.