The Atlanta Braves are facing a reckoning in the late innings. If they don't course-correct soon, their season might be over before the trade deadline even arrives.
In his recent "Stock Watch" for ESPN, Bradford Doolittle assessed where each team stands ahead of the July trade deadline. For the Braves, his evaluation was blunt: "Win games, and soon."
Once seen as a sleeping giant poised to reawaken with the returns of Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider, Atlanta has instead spiraled. Since Acuña’s season debut on May 23, the Braves have lost 12 of their last 15 games, a stretched that's knocked out of postseason contention and left them scrambling.