Braves' Biggest Red Flags Early in 2024 Season

The Atlanta Braves entered the 2024 season as one of the favorites to win the World Series, and why not with a stacked roster seemingly devoid of any glaring flaws.

Two months into the season, more than a few red flags have surfaced.

Losing Ronald Acuna Jr. to another season-ending torn ACL was a devastating blow, even with the reigning NL MVP off to a slow start. Meanwhile, the offense as a whole has not been the same juggernaut it was a year ago and the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation has been a revolving door.

Let's take a closer look at those three notable red flags.

A Much Less Potent Offense

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Austin Riley

The Braves had baseball's best offense during the 2023 season, riding that potent attack to a 104-win season and propping up a starting rotation that was banged up for much of the year.

While designated hitter Marcell Ozuna is having an MVP-caliber season at the plate, the offense as a whole has taken a significant step backward this year.

• 2023: 5.85 R/G (1st in MLB), .845 OPS (1st in MLB), 307 HR (1st in MLB)
• 2024: 4.58 R/G (8th in MLB), .730 OPS (7th in MLB), 57 HR (15th in MLB)

It's not like the offense is suddenly a liability, but those numbers still represent significant regression, and that gives the pitching staff much less margin for error.

A Revolving Door in the No. 5 Starter Role

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Bryce Elder

The emergence of offseason addition Reynaldo López in the starting rotation has been somewhat nullified by the fact that ace Spencer Strider was lost for the year to elbow surgery.

That has left the No. 5 starter role as a revolving door with five different players taking a turn and a sixth set to toe the rubber on Wednesday when Spencer Schwellenbach made his MLB debut.

Here's how those five guys have fared:

• Bryce Elder: 5 GS, 6.46 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, 23.2 IP
• Darius Vines: 2 GS, 4.66 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 9.2 IP
• Allan Winans: 1 GS, 10.80 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 5.0 IP
• AJ Smith-Shawver: 1 GS, 0.00 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 4.1 IP
• Ray Kerr: 1 GS, 11.25 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 4.0 IP

Smith-Shawver could be the long-term solution as the team's top prospect, but he landed on the injured list with an oblique strain, which opened the door for Schwellenbach to take a turn.

Will someone step forward to solidify the back of the rotation?

The Ronald Acuña Jr. Injury

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PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - MAY 24: Ronald Acuña Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates his three-run home run with teammates during the eighth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on May 24, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

There is no replacement for Ronald Acuña Jr.

The 26-year-old won NL MVP honors unanimously last year when he hit .337/.416/.596 with 41 home runs and 73 steals in an 8.2-WAR season, and he was the table-setter for baseball's best offense out of the leadoff spot.

He was hitting just .250/.351/.365 with four home runs in 222 plate appearances when he suffered a torn ACL on May 26, but it felt like only a matter of time before he caught fire at the plate, and now he'll spend the rest of the year watching from the sidelines.

The decision to bring back Adam Duvall on a one-year, $3 million deal during the offseason now looms large, while Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II have both taken turns in the leadoff spot, but the Atlanta lineup will simply not be the same without the game's most dynamic power-speed threat.