Not the Mets or the Phillies: This is the NL East team that could challenge the Dodgers this season

The race to knock out the Los Angeles Dodgers from a World Series repeat this MLB season begins on Thursday with Opening Day! Of the few teams that might be contenders, the Atlanta Braves look like the one that could realistically do it.

2025 MLB Opening Day schedule: Times, starting pitchers, TV and streaming info

Atlanta Braves stars return

The Atlanta Braves got extremely unlucky in the 2024 MLB season with injuries throughout the team, with six of their ten players from Opening Day 2024 missing at least two months of the season. The bad luck started with stars Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. Strider underwent Tommy John surgery after starting just two games, and Acuña suffered a season-ending ACL tear just one month later.

Even without them though, the Braves were able to make it to the playoffs last year. While they won’t be back for Opening Day on Thursday, those two are expected to make their return soon - Strider by the end of April and Acuña by the end of May. The Braves are hoping the extra time off for Acuña will help him get back to himself quicker than he did in the 2022 season after he’d come back from an ACL tear in the other knee.

The return of Acuña and Strider, plus a rotation headed by last year’s National League Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale will make an even more formidable lineup. Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, and Spencer Schwellenbach held their own last season and Austin Riley, Matt Olson, and Marcell Ozuna will be even more of a threat with Acuña at the top of the lineup. Until he’s back, the Braves will benefit from the offseason addition of Jurickson Profar.

Catcher Drake Baldwin appears to be ready for MLB action and with Sean Murphy sidelined with a cracked rib for a few weeks, Baldwin will make his debut on Opening Day. He’s expected to be a key player moving forward.

The only question (besides whether or not they can stay healthy), is the Braves’ bullpen depth. While Raisel Iglesias is a top closer and Pierce Johnson a reliable setup man, the team faces the challenge of replacing Joe Jimenez (out for most of the season) and A.J. Minter (now with the Mets). They’ll look to Dylan Lee, Aaron Bummer, Héctor Neris, Enyel De Los Santos, and Craig Kimbrel to fill the gaps effectively.

ESPN has the Braves’ playoff odds at 91.1% and World Series odds at 14.4%.

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The Braves will start the run for their second World Series in five years when they play the San Diego Padres on Opening Day, Thursday, March 27 at 4:10 p.m. ET (1:10 p.m. PT). Sale will pitch for the Braves and Michael King will pitch for the Padres in Game 1.

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