'Can’t Explain It’: The Braves Are MLB’s Only Winless Team. Is It Panic Time?

“‘Can’t explain it’: The Braves are MLB’s only winless team. Is it panic time?”

LOS ANGELES — At 6:32 p.m. PT on Sunday, the Braves have been shut out for the second straight evening to finish a four-game sweep in San Diego. A drive up Interstate 5 to face the undefeated Dodgers wouldn’t present any respite.

About 15 hours later, the Braves designated for task one among their few pitching additions of the offseason. Héctor Neris was entrusted to carry a one-run lead within the seventh inning on Opening Day and coughed up three runs with out recording an out. He wouldn’t make it to April with the group.

It was hardly the worst information on a depressing Monday that epitomized the Braves’ inauspicious begin to the 2025 season. Waves of misfortune swelled right into a tsunami of ache.

At 2:56 p.m., Main League Baseball introduced that Jurickson Profar, the Braves’ largest and most necessary signing of the offseason, had examined optimistic for the performance-enhancing substance chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) and can be suspended for 80 video games. He was simply 4 video games into his three-year, $42 million deal.

In an announcement, the Braves introduced they have been “surprised and extremely disappointed” to study the information. Braves supervisor Brian Snitker mentioned he spoke to Profar after the suspension was introduced. Most of his teammates didn’t need to focus on the matter or expound past expressing that it is a powerful and unlucky state of affairs.

“I’m not going to harp on it, talk about it,” Austin Riley mentioned. “The Braves released something, and we’ll leave it at that.”

“I’m not going to get into it, really,” Matt Olson added. “It’s not my story to tell. I’m sure he’s going to come out and say something for himself, so I’m going to let him handle that.”

At 3:11 p.m., Profar launched an announcement calling it probably the most troublesome day of his baseball profession, apologizing to the Braves group and his teammates and claiming he would by no means willingly take a banned substance.

Ought to Atlanta rebound the remainder of the way in which and make it to the postseason, Profar won’t be eligible to play in these video games. Then once more, no Braves group has ever began a season 0-5 — not to mention 0-6, as their winless begin to the yr stretched additional Tuesday — and made the playoffs. They should buck historical past to make an eighth straight journey to the postseason.

They may even must pivot rapidly.

Outdoors of including Profar, the Braves did virtually nothing of be aware to bolster their membership this winter, which was particularly notable after shedding Max Fried, Charlie Morton and A.J. Minter. They agreed to a one-year, cut up contract with outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, who remains to be on the lookout for his first hit in 2025. Relievers Neris and Enyel De Los Santos have been each signed to minor-league offers and added to the energetic roster on March 21. Neris was DFA’d 10 days later.

Their bullpen is 0-3 with a 5.21 ERA to start out the season, however that’s hardly their largest difficulty.

Forty-nine minutes after the Profar replace, the Braves introduced that starter Reynaldo López can be positioned on the 15-day injured record with proper shoulder irritation. They didn’t know the extent of the harm till a day later, when Snitker mentioned on Tuesday that López will want an arthroscopic process to evaluate the harm.

The Braves hope López will pitch once more sooner or later this yr, however they will not know the extent of the harm till after the exploratory surgical procedure. His shoulder has given him hassle because the finish of final season’s All-Star marketing campaign, a yr through which the transformed reliever posted a 1.99 ERA in 25 begins. Bryce Elder, who had a 6.52 ERA final yr, was known as as much as fill the emptiness.

They not less than nonetheless have reigning Cy Younger Award winner Chris Sale and rising star Spencer Schwellenbach to guide the group till Spencer Strider’s return, which might come later this month. Beginning pitching additionally hasn’t been the explanation for the Braves’ first 0-6 begin since 2016.

As a substitute, the most important offender for his or her struggles — and the toughest one to elucidate — is an offense that has been the worst in baseball the primary week of the yr.

Already taking part in with out Ronald Acuña Jr, who’s unlikely to return till subsequent month as he recovers from his second ACL restore, the Braves should now transfer ahead with out Profar atop the reconfigured lineup.

As they proceed absorbing hits off the sector, they can not seem to discover any on it.

Two years in the past, the Braves assembled top-of-the-line offenses in MLB historical past. They have been the primary NL/AL group ever to slug over .500 in a season and tied an MLB report with 307 house runs. That group got here crashing down final season, dropping from the highest-scoring offense in baseball to the center of the pack in 2024, scoring 243 runs fewer than the season prior. Other than Marcell Ozuna, their most dependable performers both regressed, bought damage or each.

Nonetheless, for Riley and Michael Harris II particularly, the underlying numbers instructed higher days forward. There have been loads of causes, even with Acuña tabled initially, to imagine the Braves’ offense would bounce again.

They determined to chart a brand new route ahead. After 10 years with the membership, hitting coach Kevin Seitzer was fired after the 2024 season. The Braves introduced in Georgia native Tim Hyers, who spent the final three years because the Rangers’ hitting coach and received a World Sequence in Texas.

Six video games in, the offense is spiraling additional.

The Braves are hitting .137/.238/.220 as a gaggle. Every slash line class represents the worst mark in baseball. They’ve scored 9 runs via six video games and two runs of their final 4 video games. Once they’ve gotten an opportunity, they’ve squandered it.

Ozuna is 1-for-4 with three walks with runners in scoring place this season; the remainder of the group is 0-for-30 mixed in these situations.

“I can’t explain it,” Snitker mentioned. “I’m sure they’re pressing. That’s human nature to press when everybody wants to be the guy.”

The Braves have been at risk of being shut out for a 3rd straight recreation Monday earlier than a Harris solo homer within the eighth inning in Los Angeles snapped a 29-inning scoreless skid.

It didn’t, nonetheless, flip the script. The Braves misplaced that recreation 6-1, unable to resolve Tyler Glasnow and the Dodgers’ pitching employees.

“I feel like once we get rolling, everything will get back on track,” Harris mentioned.

That didn’t occur the next night.

On Tuesday, Atlanta wanted Sale to be pristine. For 5 innings, he was. The Dodgers gifted the Braves the lone run of the sport to that time when shortstop Mookie Betts threw away a possible double-play ball. Within the fifth, Betts made up for the error with a go-ahead homer. The Braves didn’t creator a response, mustering simply three hits within the loss.

“We’ve definitely been tried,” Sale mentioned. “It’s just been tough. We really just haven’t played really well as a whole and haven’t clicked. That’s obviously bad, but the good news is you look around this room and see who’s in here, we know it’s only a matter of time, right? And luckily at this point in the season, we have time.”

For now, they’re looking for assistance on the margins.

When Neris was DFA’d, the Braves known as up 41-year-old Jesse Chavez, who allowed one run in two innings Monday earlier than the bullpen revolving door continued. Chavez was DFA’d a day later, and the Braves chosen the contract of Zach Thompson.

On the day they misplaced Profar, they acquired outfielder Stuart Fairchild from the Reds. Eleven days prior, they added free-agent Alex Verdugo on a $1.5 million deal for outfield depth. After lacking a lot time within the spring, nonetheless, the Braves need to get Verdugo extra at-bats at Triple-A.

Because the losses pile up, although, they might not have a selection however to name him up.

On Tuesday, the beginning lineup featured extra hitters batting beneath .100 than above .200. The bulk sat someplace in between. 4 of the hitters the Braves are relying on most — Harris, Riley, Olson and Ozzie Albies — have a mixed .129 batting common.

“We’ve pitched and played defense well enough to win,” Snitker mentioned. “The only thing we haven’t done is score enough runs to win. It’s pretty much as simple as that.”

There’s nonetheless time for everybody to seek out their type. Final yr, the Braves endured a six-game shedding streak and nonetheless squeaked right into a playoff spot. FanGraphs nonetheless provides them a 73% probability to make the playoffs, they usually’ll get to host the Marlins of their house opener Friday.

With Strider due again quickly and Acuña to comply with a month from now, they only must hold the ship afloat.

With every passing day, although, there appears to be one other gap to patch and a brand new wave approaching out of nowhere.

“There’s confidence in this room still,” Sale mentioned. “I mean, I know it’s coming from inspiring places right now just sitting where we’re at, but we haven’t played a game at home yet. We’re one rotation through, and, again, it’s a long season. You don’t want to hang your hat on that quote, but at the end of the day, it is.”

Rowan Kavner is an MLB author for FOX Sports activities. He beforehand lined the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved again to the West Coast in 2014. Comply with him on X at @RowanKavner.

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