The Atlanta Braves have a problem. It’s not just that they’ve dropped 11 of their last 15 games. It’s that their offense — the engine that carried them to a division lead — has gone quiet in a way that’s starting to feel structural, not just a bad week.
Over that 15-game slide, the Braves got shut out twice and scored four runs or fewer seven times. That’s not a blip. That’s a trend. And according to Tim Britton, Chad Jennings, and Eno Sarris of The Athletic, those struggles have triggered a shift in how the front office is thinking about the trade deadline.
The Athletic’s trio noted that Atlanta’s season wRC+ — a catch-all offensive metric — dipped below 100 this past week, meaning the Braves are now hitting below league average. For a team built around power and patience, that’s the kind of number that gets people’s attention. Especially with the Brewers grabbing the second-best record in the National League and both the Phillies and Marlins creeping up in the NL East standings.
“The Braves could still use another starting pitcher,” the trio wrote, “but they’ve rocketed to the top of our offensive urgency ranking.”
July has been a disaster for several key bats. Jorge Mateo is hitting .083. Dominic Smith is at .174 with just three RBIs. Even Matt Olson, who you’d expect to carry the load, is sitting at .241 for the month, though his four homers are keeping him afloat. Michael Harris II has been the lone bright spot, hitting .424 with two home runs and 10 RBIs this month — which somehow wasn’t enough to get him an All-Star nod. Fans online were not subtle about that snub.
What’s Actually Going Wrong?
Injuries are part of it. Ronald Acuña Jr. is hurt again. Ha-Seong Kim is out too. Austin Riley is having the worst season of his career — .212 average, .290 on-base, nine homers, 41 RBIs. Mauricio Dubón can only play one position at a time, which limits flexibility. The Athletic’s reporting suggests left field is the most obvious place to add a bat, but the Braves don’t have a full-time designated hitter either, which actually gives them some flexibility in where they slot a new piece.
It’s worth remembering this team is still in first place. At 52-38, they’re two games up on the Phillies and three ahead of the Marlins. That’s not a crisis. But the margin for error is shrinking, and if the offense doesn’t snap out of it soon, the division lead could vanish before anyone has time to react.
The Braves continue their series with the Pirates on Wednesday night. It’s a chance to reset, sure. But the trade deadline clock is ticking, and the front office’s shopping list just got a lot more specific.
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