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Talking Chop

Your one stop shop for everything Atlanta Braves

Latest Entries

Zack Littell: Yay or nay?

I’m not gonna make a case, or talk about how it depends on price. You can do that. Littell is the only free agent remaining who A) does not require loss of a draft pick, and B) is projected by a blend of Steamer and ZiPS to produce over 1.5 WAR in 2026. Do with […]

MLB

Braves News: Ronald Acuña Jr. in live BP, WBC schedule, and more

The fun continues in North Port, Florida, as Ronald Acuña Jr. and some other Atlanta Braves have been participating in live BP. Gabe Burns of the AJC has given an inside look at camp all week; Acuña stepped in against Chris Sale, and the veteran lefty got the better of him, punching him out twice. […]

How far will the Braves go when it comes to fortifying the starting rotation?

The good news for the Atlanta Braves as we continue to progress through the early portions of spring training is that two days of camp have come and gone and the Braves haven’t had anybody else go on the 60-Day IL. Here’s hoping that this continues long into spring training, the World Baseball Classic and […]

Examining Black baseball history: The Atlanta Black Crackers

America’s pastime has had many layers over the years and has been played throughout many countries and historical periods, including wars we still look back on today. Although many records have been erased from history books, and notable players weren’t given the credit they deserved to justify their talent, it’s important to look and recognize […]

MLB

How many innings will Bryce Elder and Joey Wentz pitch for Atlanta in 2026?

I’m shamelessly stealing from the comments, here. Unless there’s a move on the rotation side, Bryce Elder will probably begin the year in Atlanta’s rotation. Joey Wentz is out of options, as is Elder. Seems reasonable — unless you’re willing to roll the dice on the Braves going in a very different direction at this […]

Braves News: Joe Jimenez, starter options, best prospect tools, more

Well Chris Bassitt is off the board with a 1 year $18.5 million deal with the Orioles after it really felt like Bassitt would land in Atlanta. The terms of that deal seems like it would have been fairly palatable to an Atlanta front office that loves a one year deal. I wonder if they […]

Spring Training open thread: February 11

Well, nobody went on the 60-Day IL today so I’d consider that a success! The night is still young so I’m definitely knocking on wood here but hopefully we’re past the bad injury luck for the time being. That clubhouse needs it and the fanbase needs it as well. Phew. Anyways, here’s a random clip. […]

Outside-of-the-box options for the Braves to add starting pitching for 2026

The Atlanta Braves got some more bad news when it was discovered that Spencer Schwellenbach will need arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow. This leads to wondering what the way forward. It was widely expected that the Braves would try to land a playoff caliber starting pitcher this off-season, which obviously has not happened yet. […]

2026 Battery Power Braves Prospects Best Tools: Hitters

For best tools when it comes to pitchers, click here. Best Hitter – John Gil It was quite the first full season for John Gil, as he was the catalyst at the top of a young and exciting Augusta GreenJackets lineup and showed advanced ability at the plate at just 19 years old. Early in […]

Walt Weiss: Joe Jimenez may not be back this season

Walt Weiss gave the press some more injury news today. To no Braves fan’s surprise, it’s not good news. Oy. It’s the song that never ends. Jimenez, already having lost the 2025 season with a left articular cartilage injury and further surgery in November, may be out for 2026. The Braves, after placing Spencer Schwellenbach […]

USA Today predicts Braves to finish third in NL East in 2026

When it comes to projection models like FanGraphs and PECOTA, the Atlanta Braves have some very high expectations in 2026. However, they’ve still got a ways to go when it comes to convincing some pundits out there — particularly the panel of five people who were chosen to make predictions for USA Today when it […]

MLB

Which Brave is gonna get hurt next?

Alright, baseball nihilism time. Or, at least, pessimism, I guess. Back in December, reports on Spencer Schwellenbach’s health were good. Now, not so good. Very bad, really. Joe Jimenez was more of an expected outcome at this point. Much of the roster could more or less suffer the same turn of events…and Ha-Seong Kim already […]

MLB

Braves News: Spring Training roundup, Spencer Schwellenbach, and more

Tuesday made for a busy day for the Atlanta Braves, as pitchers and catchers reported to the spring training facility in North Port, Florida. There were several storylines from the day, and in 2025 fashion, not all of them were great. Most notably, it was announced that starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach has some inflammation in […]

Braves re-acquire Brett Wisely, Joe Jimenez placed on 60-day IL

The Atlanta Braves have been hyper-active on this first day of Spring Training, with the teaming making a late-night announcement that infielder Brett Wisely, who appeared with the team late in the 2025 season, has been re-acquired by the team in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations. The Braves traded Wisely […]

Spring Training open thread: February 10

Spring Training is officially underway with Atlanta Braves pitchers and catchers reporting to North Port for workouts. Today has been a jam-packed news day with the Braves adding catcher Johan Heim, losing starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach to the 60-day IL, dealing with new reliever Robert Suarez having visa issues and Dylan Lee winning his arbitration […]

MLB

Dylan Lee wins arbitration case over Braves

Atlanta Braves reliever Dylan Lee has reportedly won his arbitration case over the team, according to a report by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Per the report, Lee will make $2.2 million for the 2026 season. The club had filed at $2 million. Lee was the Braves’ only arbitration-eligible player this offseason to go to arbitration. Lee […]

Spencer Schwellenbach will start 2026 season on 60-Day IL

Heading into this season, the Braves were anticipating that Spencer Schwellenbach would be healthy and ready to go after he had his 2025 season cut short due to a fractured elbow. Unfortunately, here on the first day of pitchers and catchers being at spring training, it’s become clear that Schwellenbach’s elbow is still bothering him. […]

PECOTA still likes the Braves heading into the 2026 season

Do y’all remember the time when Baseball Prospectus would drop their annual PECOTA projections and there would be gnashing of teeth and rending of garments on the Braves Country corner of the internet? That was because for years, if there was any team that represented the whole “PECOTA hates your team” belief, it was the […]

Braves reportedly sign Jonah Heim on one-year deal

Atlanta Braves pitchers and catchers have officially reported to spring training and as it turns out, there’s another catcher who has joined the Braves for the first day of camp. I suppose that things have been hectic down there in North Port because we didn’t get the usual Braves tweet with a block of white […]

What will Grant Holmes produce in 2026?

Prior entries: Back when I was working on IWAG a lot, I noticed a dichotomy of sorts. For position players, IWAG did basically about as well as Steamer and ZiPS, which wasn’t really surprising, given that it was made to try and replicate them. No matter what year I looked at, no system really beat […]

Offseason open thread: February 9

Good evening, folks. I hope your week has gotten off to a solid start and that this evening goes well for you, as well. Here’s a random clip:

Battery Power is looking for new writers!

With spring training and the regular season right around the corner and with some new openings on the staff here at Battery Power, we’ve decided to officially open up applications in order to find new writers! If you’d like a chance to write about the Braves for what is (in our own biased opinion) the […]

2026 Battery Power Braves Prospects Best Tools: Pitchers

Another season of Atlanta Braves minor league baseball looms on the horizon, and following the release of our top 30 prospects list last week, this week we are taking a deeper look at some of the prospects on the list and how the changes on the list came to be. One of the most important […]