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Braves legend has hand hovering over panic button amid disaster start

Originally posted on MLB on ClutchPoints
By Jackson Stone | Last updated Apr 10, 2025 1:20 PM ET

The Atlanta Braves have gotten off to a disastrous start to the 2025 MLB season, currently sitting at 2-9 following Wednesday evening’s loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Braves have had struggles both with pitching and at the plate, struggles that manifested themselves throughout the frustrating loss on Wednesday night.

Recently, Braves legend Chipper Jones took to The Athletic’s Starkville podcast to relay his thoughts on the current state of the organization.

“Probably somewhere between concern and panic,” he said.

“I didn’t see us struggling this bad,” he added. “You’ve seen abysmal hitting overall. And the situational hitting has been even worse.”

The Braves’ bullpen struggles manifested again during Wednesday’s loss to the Phillies, with the team allowing late inning home runs to both Bryce Harper and Trea Turner that ultimately gave Philadelphia its final margin of victory.

A brutal start for the Braves

Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley (27) slides as he scores during third inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Heading into this season, the Braves figured to be on the short list of teams with a realistic chance of competing with the Los Angeles Dodgers for National League supremacy.

Fast forward two weeks, and the Braves’ season is in danger of ending before it ever even began, as the team has already dug itself quite a hole in the divisional race, which they lost for the first time in six years in 2024.

Atlanta’s plate discipline has been abysmal to start the new campaign, and the team also recently received some bad news when free agent signee Jurickson Profar was suspended for half the season. If the Braves do somehow make the playoffs this year, Profar would also be ineligible for that portion of the season.

Overall, it would be hard for even the most cynical Braves fan to have predicted a start as bad as the one the team has endured to open up the 2025 campaign. The good news is that there are still 151 games remaining to get things right, beginning with Thursday evening’s grudge match against the Phillies.

This article first appeared on MLB on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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