How will we look back on 2025 in another 15 years?

It will be a disappointment, sure, but whether it was the one-year down-turn before another handful of successful seasons or alternatively, if it was the canary in the coal mine and hastened a tear-down and rebuild, will remain a question for a few more years.

The disappointment of this season has roots in health. The Atlanta Braves entered the regular season waiting on the return of two of their biggest stars in outfielder Ronald Acuña, Jr. and starting pitcher Spencer Strider. Before the regular season began, the team lost starting catcher Sean Murphy in to Spring Training with a fractured rib.

By the time July rolled around, the team had those three players back, but lost their entire Opening Day starting rotation to injury.

Only three position players saw action in 157 or more games: Iron man Matt Olson who played in all 162, center fielder Michael Harris II who played in 160 games (and only missed two due to poor performance), and Ozzie Albies, who had played in every game after returning from a wrist injury in 2024 before fracturing a bone in his hand on the follow-through of a swing in the season’s last week.

Starter Spencer Schwellenbach was well on his way to a probable All-Star Game selection until he broke a bone in his right elbow. Grant Holmes looked like a solid mid-rotation starter – or better – before an elbow injury ended his season. The bullpen wasn’t spared as Joe Jimenez wasn’t able to make it back from off-season knee surgery and they lost Aaron Bummer during the Summer.

Then there were the slumps. Albies, Harris II and closer Raisel Iglseias went through phases where they were truly awful while Dylan Lee gave up a copious number of home runs earlier in the season. That is to say nothing of free agent signee Jurickson Profar getting suspended for 80 games for a PED violation during the season’s first road trip — nor Austin Riley being lost for the season with a core injury.

Rehashing the 2025 season as an introduction to the Battery Power Braves Player of the Year isn’t because reliving the horrors of the season is a great way to kick off “Spooky Season” in October, but to point out that over the course of this season the team didn’t have many players — not to mention their star players — who were available from Opening Day through the end of September.

Rookie catcher Drake Baldwin wasn’t expected to start the season in Atlanta, although there was thought that he might be able to unseat planned back-up Chadwick Tromp if Baldwin swung a hot bat at Triple-A to start the season. Murphy’s injury opened the door for Baldwin and he went on to have a season that could end up with a National League Rookie of the Year Award. Baldwin exceeded expectations and looks to be a significant part of the team’s plan moving into the last-half of the decade.

Until the last couple of weeks of the season, set-up man Pierce Johnson was a highly effective high-leverage set-up back in the Braves bullpen. Iglesias (who lost his closer’s job for several weeks because his slider wouldn’t slide), ended up pacing the National League with 57 games finished and ended the season as the best reliever in the league over the final two months of the year.

Bryce Elder (who didn’t start the year in the team’s rotation and wasn’t expected to more than a seventh or eighth starter) ended up leading the team in both innings and games started. Elder had his fair share of bad outings – and his overall numbers reflected that – but he ended the season strong and took the ball every fifth day, and that was a rare feat this season.

Chris Sale was Chris Sale again this year after a couple of early-season rocky starts. That was until he fractured a rib diving for a ball and missed two months of the season. Luckily, he returned as Chris Sale again. And Chris Sale is better than almost any starting pitcher in baseball not named Chris Sale.

Ronald Acuña, Jr. homered on the first pitch he saw upon returning from injury and ended the season playing in 95 games with a 161 wRC+. He also made of of the best throws from right field in the last 25 years to nab a runner trying to advance to third on a fly out. Despite a few slow weeks after his return, he still posted 3.5 fWAR for the season. Hopefully he can stay healthy in 2026 because when he is, he is one of the top five players in the National League.

There were other bright spots like Hurston Waldrep’s two months in the rotation but ultimately, the Battery Power Braves Player of the Year was about a much of a no-doubter as one could expect.

Battery Power Braves Player of the Year: Matt Olson

This season wasn’t the absolute best of Atlanta’s first baseman’s career, nor was it the best season he’s had since joining the Braves prior to the start of the 2022 season. But it was in his top three, and this season that was enough to put him head-and-shoulders above his counterparts.

Now with the 12th longest consecutive games streak in the history of the game, Olson’s availability ability is elite. He’s played in every game in a full season five times — six when you include the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign. During his time with the Braves, that has been doing so in the field, as every one of his 648 starts with the Braves has been at first base — remember, his first season here coincided with the DH becoming universal across both major leagues and he had played a handful of games as a DH during his stint in Oakland.

In this year’s edition of his 162 game streak, Olson set a career high in plate appearances and at bats, thanks to his time batting second in the team’s lineup. He tied for the National League lead in doubles with 41 and led the league in games, games started and defensive innings. He also ranked in the top 10 of numerous offensive categories in the National League for both counting stats and advanced metric stats.

He ranked second in MLB in outs above average at first base and tied for the lead in runs prevented – both according to Baseball Savant. If he doesn’t win a Gold Glove for his work this year, it will be a shame.

For the Braves, he led the team in most major offensive counting categories, including home runs, RBI, runs, doubles, and hits. He also finished second on the team in walks. All that combined for a .272/.366/.484 with a .850 OPS and a 136 wRC+.

Four seasons into his Atlanta Braves career, Olson was probably the best all-around first baseman in the National League in 2025. He was also the the Braves best player for the entirety of the 2025 campaign.