By this time last season, the Braves were in trouble. They had opened 0-7 and learned that a key offseason addition, Jurickson Profar, would be lost for half a season after testing positive for a banned substance.
The Braves fought to one game over .500 by mid-May, but the roots of injury and underperformance that had manifested immediately, persisted and their streak of seven straight playoff seasons ended.
It was possible to believe in spring training that they were heading toward Season From Hell II.
They opened camp knowing AJ Smith-Shawver was likely out until 2027, and that their rotation had lots of health concerns and depth worries. Then they lost four starters — Joey Wentz for the season, Spencer Strider until at least May, and Spencer Schwellenbach and Hursten Waldrep for months, at best. And Profar tested positive again, this time being banned for the season.
