Lost in, well, everything else that went wrong for the Atlanta Braves this season has been that they start the season off on the wrong foot after Reynaldo Lopez's shoulder surgery. After a very promising first season back in the rotation despite some minor injury stuff, Atlanta was relying on Lopez to help anchor their starting pitching staff. Once Lopez went down with the injury, it was one of the first dominos to fall that ended with the Braves being out of contention for a playoff spot for the first time since 2017.
In most circumstances like this where you have a guy like Lopez who clearly faded and was, at minimum, sore at the end the 2024 season after getting converted back to starting followed by needing shoulder surgery after one start, something would click.