atlanta sports tagged interest

The Atlanta Braves can look ahead to 2025 and put an injury-plagued season to bed.

Kyle Higashioka homered and Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill added two RBIs apiece during a five-run second inning in what may have been Max Fried’s last Braves start to help the San Diego Padres clinch their National League wild-card series with a 5-4 victory over the visiting Braves in Game 2 of their best-of-three series Wednesday night.

The Padres will open the NL Division Series on Saturday against the top-seeded Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Michael Harris II was the bright spot in the Braves’ season-ending series. In Game 2, he had three hits, including a two-run homer that brought the Braves within 5-4 in the eighth inning and put some pressure on San Diego. The 23-year-old Stockbridge native was 5-for-8 with a home run and double in the two games in San Diego. He scored two runs in Game 2, and the first gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Jorge Soler added a solo home run in the fifth for Atlanta, which couldn’t overcome a rough start from Fried, who is off to free agency in the offseason. The left-hander escaped a bases loaded jam, but he was torched for five runs and eight hits over two innings. He struck out two and walked none.

Most predictions have Fried landing somewhere other than Atlanta after he and Braves didn’t reach an extension as his current contract headed toward expiration. Veteran starter Charlie Morton also will be a free agent, and it’s expected the that the 40-year-old will retire, leaving two vacancies in the starting rotation in 2025.

The good news is Atlanta will have a rotation anchored by Chris Sale, this year’s presumed Cy Young Award winner, and Spencer Strider, who the Braves hope is recovered from Tommy John surgery near the beginning of the 2025 season. Breakout star Spencer Schwellenbach also will play a prominent role as a lead starter.

Of the other free agents on the Braves’ roster, the other concern is reliable left-handed reliever A.J. Minter. He has been a key component of the Atlanta bullpen for nearly a decade, but he is expected to be a coveted free agent over the winter.

Atlanta holds club options on a few key players, including designated hitter Marcell Ozuna and catcher Travis d’Arnaud. Bringing Ozuna back seems like a no-brainer after he carried the offense for the bulk of an injury-riddled season that saw Strider, 2023 MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. and third baseman Austin Riley suffer season-ending injuries. Catcher Sean Murphy, second baseman Ozzie Albies and Harris also missed extended time with injuries in 2024.

While the Braves showed their resilience to make the postseason, they are hopeful for a much healthier 2025 season.