The Atlanta Braves are looking to avenge last year's postseason debacle with another deep playoff run. After finally getting over the hump in 2020, as well as winning it all in 2021, the 2022 Braves regressed in the postseason. They lost to the No. 6-seeded Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS a year ago, and it was not particularly close... The latest postseason series loss is fresh on everyone's mind.
So while Atlanta awaits the winner of the NLWCS between Philadelphia and the Miami Marlins in their best-of-three, Saturday could not get here soon enough. The Braves are wisely holding simulated games with Braves Country amuck in The Battery. It may be a glorified exhibition, but it is most certainly playoff baseball in The ATL. Believe it or not, the weather is actually starting to change here.
But with that in mind, we are still three days away from Game 1 of the NLDS between the Braves and the winner of Marlins vs. Phillies at Truist Park. The expectation is that 20-game winner Spencer Strider will toe the rubber for the home team on Saturday. After that it will probably be Max Fried getting the start in Game 2 on Monday. The Braves just have to win three of five games to advance.
So to help you pass the time, here are a healthy helping of delicious Braves rumors for you to digest.
Atlanta Braves rumors: The only World Series simulation you need to see
MLB The Show simulated the entire postseason so you don't have to. If life starts to imitate art again, then this is a very good thing for Braves Country, as it implies there will be a second championship parade in three years. The 2023 Braves may not be those m***********s Joc Pederson once knew, but it is going to be hard for the opposition to put up as many runs as this year's Braves lineup surely can.
The simulation really starts for the Braves with a three-game sweep of Philadelphia in the NLDS. I think if Philadelphia gets past Miami then an Atlanta vs. Philadelphia rematch will go four or five. Regardless, I will take the video game sweep and move on with my day. Atlanta would then face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. The Braves are coming out on top in the best-of-seven in seven.
Meeting the Braves in the 2023 Fall Classic, according to this simulation, will be the No. 5-seeded Texas Rangers, who bested the division rival Houston Astros in seven in the ALCS. Will the third time in the World Series be the charm for DFW's favorite AL squad? Unfortunately, they are about to have as many title bout losses as Joe Burrow's Cincinnati Bengals, as Texas loses to the Braves in seven.
Assuming everything goes according to plan and this simulation, we have a parade to get ready for.
Atlanta Braves rumors: The latest on adding Josh Hader in free agency
While San Diego Padres star reliever Josh Hader will be hitting free agency, it is not a guarantee that he will be leaving sunny Southern California in 2024. Hader, who Braves Country fondly remembers for giving up the series-clinching home run to Freddie Freeman in the 2021 NLDS, has spent the better part of the last two years with the Padres. He played with the Milwaukee Brewers previously.
Although he will be one of the top relief pitchers hitting free agency, Hader is open to staying put.
"Absolutely. We love this place. We love the fans, you can see the support that they gave us all season, last season too. And these guys. It [was] a fun season and a fun year and half that I've been here and my family and I have enjoyed it. Like I've said, we'll see what happens."
Hader would then add that last year's four-final team failed to meet reasonable expectations in 2023.
"Obviously there were a lot of expectations for us at the start of the year. Hopefully next year we can bring some of these guys back and we'll make a run at it again, we'll see what the front office has in mind. I think that, if you put this team in the same situation next year, I think it's probably a very different outcome."
Here is the entire clip of Hader speaking to Marty Caswell on the MartyTimeTV YouTube channel.
Overall, Hader is a five-time NL All-Star and three-time Hoffman winner still very much at the peak of his powers. However, he is barely on the good side of 30, meaning we could see a regression to his game due to arm trouble, fatigue or things of that nature. Where he goes in free agency will decide if Hader will ever be a World Series champion, possibly improving on his hall-of-fame-level trajectory.
Ultimately, if he likes what the San Diego brass is about, then it makes sense to possibly stay put. Petco Park is well-known for its ability to favor pitchers. Given that the Padres are the biggest ticket in town, staying gives him a greater level of local celebrity than he could garner pretty much anywhere else in baseball. Although the Braves might win more than San Diego, he is probably not coming here.
Since when has Alex Anthopoulos paid a premium for a player rapidly approaching his 30th birthday?
Atlanta Braves rumors: This postseason roster spot may be up for grabs
During the Braves' first intra-squad scrimmage ahead of the NLDS, we learned two big things regarding the pitching staff. One, that Max Fried will almost certainly be the starter in Game 2 on Monday vs. the winner of the Marlins-Phillies series with Spencer Strider getting Game 1. And two, rookie AJ Smith-Shawver may have strengthened his chances of making the postseason roster.
David O'Brien of The Athletic believes Smith-Shawver may have done enough in his exhibition start Tuesday. He went five innings, giving up one hit with five strikeouts and two walks in his 75 pitches. This comes on the heels of his strong showing vs. the Chicago Cubs last weekend. At this stage of the game, you have to go with the hot hand on the mound. Atlanta cannot let anything go to waste.
Should someone like Smith-Shawver provide meaningful innings to the Atlanta staff in the NLDS and beyond, then the Braves are well-equipped to win their second World Series championship in three years. If not, and key pieces like Fried and Strider are not up to snuff, then it will be yet another long offseason in Atlanta, one where they let their best team since the 1996 Braves fall to the wayside.
Once again, Atlanta will only go as far this postseason as its pitching staff will allow for it to go.
