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On Thursday afternoon, the Atlanta Braves will get their 2025 season underway with a road game against the San Diego Padres, the same team who eliminated them in the postseason a year ago. The Braves are coming into this year looking to rebound after three straight NLDS exits as well as seeing their streak of NL East titles come to an end this past season.
The Braves were somewhat under the radar this offseason in terms of big acquisitions, instead choosing mainly to focus on bringing back a (healthier) version of the roster that has been one of the league's best over the past few seasons.
One person who is convinced that the Braves do indeed have enough to contend this year is MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, who recently made a bold prediction as it pertains to Atlanta's season.
“I have the Braves beating the Rangers in the World Series, but what do I know? What does anyone know? The six-month soap operas are about to unfold. And the plots are a mystery to us all,” wrote Rosenthal.
Rosenthal also noted that “the Braves, once Ronald Acuña Jr. is healthy, could resume their offensive dominance.”
Can the Braves turn the corner?
The Atlanta Braves have been on a steady downhill trajectory since winning the 2021 MLB championship, having lost twice to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS before bowing out in the same round to the San Diego Padres this past season.
In 2024, injuries were largely viewed as the main culprit for Atlanta's struggles, as Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley, and a host of other starters were all out of the rotation by the time the postseason rolled around.
Acuna tore his ACL midway through the 2024 season, but the hope is that he will be able to return at some point earlier on in this upcoming campaign and help bolster what should be a vaunted Braves offensive attack.
In any case, the Braves and Padres are slated to get things underway at 4:10 PM ET.
