When the Atlanta Braves were at their most dominant a few seasons ago, a lot of that success had to do with the fact that their infield was basically a machine. No matter where you looked in the lineup, it was tough to find an out when all of these guys were in there and clicking at the same time. Fortunately, most of that infield is still here but as time has marched on, questions have emerged.
Chief among those questions is whether or not we’ll ever see guys like Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson and Austin
Riley reach the lofty heights of production that they achieved during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Will Ha-Seong Kim return to form as well once he returns from injury? Where does Maurico Dubón fit in all of this once the Braves have their ideal lineup ready to go? How effective will the depth be and can the depth be trusted if the injury bug rears its ugly head once again? This is a group where success is just as likely as failure, which makes this crew a fascinating unit to talk and think about.
First Base
Assuming things stay the same as they were ever since his arrival ahead of the 2022 season, first base for the Atlanta Braves will once again be The Matt Olson Show. He put on a great show in 2025 and if he can deliver a repeat performance then that’ll be a pleasant development. Dating back to 2019, Olson has either had a “good season” or a “great season” without really chaining together two great seasons in a row.
For what it’s worth, most of the projection models are suggesting that Olson will in fact follow the pattern and put up simply a “good season” this time around — ZiPS is currently projecting that he’ll hit .250/.342/.468 with a .348 wOBA and 124 wRC+. Again, that’s a perfectly fine season for Olson to have but it’s also not anything that would have the eyes popping out of your head like a Looney Tunes character or anything like that.
There is a question as to whether or not new manager Walt Weiss will choose to follow in his predecessor’s steps and let Olson play all 162 if he fully desires or if he’ll try to encourage Olson to get some rest days in. If that’s the case, then that means that Dominic Smith (assuming he makes the squad) could see some time at first base for the Braves this season. The defense would certainly take a bit of a downturn with Smith at first base but he’s coming off of a season where he produced 111 wRC+ over 63 games while playing for the Giants, so hopefully he’d be able to produce a bit whenever called upon. If all goes well, he won’t be called upon that often since Olson is still likely to play the vast majority of games with a rest only coming on occasion instead of being a regular thing.
Second Base
Similarly to Matt Olson, if Ozzie Albies has his way then he’ll be playing every day. If he remains healthy then the main question will then become if the version of Ozzie that we’re going to see is closer to the one who was performing like a star in 2023 and 2021 or if we’re going to see the version that’s been scuffling about for the past couple of seasons.
While it’s tough to extrapolate World Baseball Classic performances to the Major League Baseball regular season, one thing that was very encouraging about Ozzie’s historic walk-off blast was the fact that he hit it from the left-hand side. If that’s going on then hopefully the wrist issues that played a role in his struggles last season are now long behind him and we’ll be back to seeing Ozzie playing at a pretty high level. That would require some over-performance according to the projections but at the same time, if Ozzie starts doing some real damage from the left side of the plate then that’ll answer a lot of questions when it comes to his immediate future during this upcoming season.
When it comes to the leather, Ozzie Albies hasn’t been known for his defense for a few seasons now. If he’s also in the lineup every day like he and Olson want to be, then that’ll just be something the Braves have to live with. If he’s taking some games off then one thing that could provide some solace is that the defense that’ll be provided by any of the players behind him on the depth chart should be better.
Brett Wisely is certainly not here for his bat so if he can serve as a reliable stand-in with solid defense then the Braves should be happy with what he can provide. Maurico Dubón can also play a very capable second base as well so I’d imagine that he’ll be a perfect candidate to give Ozzie a day of rest once Ha-Seong Kim comes back and gets settled at shortstop. Once again, if Ozzie stays healthy then the Braves are going to just roll with whatever he gives them unless it’s a complete disaster.
Shortstop
Speaking of Dubón and Kim, This is one spot where Atlanta’s depth will already be put to the test. Due to Ha-Seong Kim’s icy mishap during the winter, Dubón is now set to be the starting shortstop until Kim is healthy again. While Dubón should be decent for the Braves at SS, this also isn’t exactly ideal since Dubón would be much better utilized as a utility guy who can fill in at any spot on the diamond whenever needed instead of being an everyday player. Dubón will have to continue playing some good-to-great defense (he’s coming off of an absolute banger of a 20 OAA season in 2025) while he serves as the starting shortstop for Atlanta because it’s highly unlikely that he’s going to be doing any type of big bopping with the bat and seems like a shoo-in for the ninth spot in the order.
Once Kim does eventually return to the lineup, it is very clear that the Braves are banking on Kim returning to the form that he showed in his last fully healthy season in 2023. That was when he produced a wRC+ of 110 for the Padres alongside a .330 wOBA. Atlanta will be happy if he can get that wOBA back into the .300s in 2026 and they’ll be over the moon if it’s anywhere near .330 again. Kim when healthy is also a very solid defender as well — again, his 2023 season saw him put up 9 OAA and if he can return to anything even approaching that then things will be going well for Kim in Atlanta.
While Kim is gone, we should be seeing a fair amount of Jorge Mateo at shortstop as well. Mateo is a burner on the basepaths and that should make this coaching staff pretty happy to have him around since it’s been public knowledge that the Braves are certainly looking to get better as a baserunning team going forward. With that being said, his defense hasn’t really been something to get excited about since 2023 and you aren’t going to get a lot of pop out of his bat, either. If Dubón can stay healthy then Mateo will likely be utilized as a pinch-runner but if the injury bug strikes Dubón then Mateo will be pressed into action and we’ll just have to hope for the best from the former Orioles utilityman.
Third Base
I wrote about it earlier during spring training and it bears repeating: The Braves need Austin Riley to return to star status if they’re going to have any real aspirations of being serious contenders in 2026. When the Braves were at their best during this current era, Austin Riley was playing a major part in that success. Injuries derailed a lot of Atlanta’s dreams of success for the past couple of seasons and Riley got swept up in that mess as well.
So it’s definitely lovely to hear that Riley is reportedly feeling good and ready to contribute for the upcoming season. As of right now, ZiPS is currently projecting for Riley to be a 120 wRC+ hitter alongside .344 wOBA and a .262/.325/.477 slash line. If he can combine that with some good defense then his production should be something that is approaching the Halcyon days of when Riley was performing like an elite third baseman. If the defense is not there then he’s still got a long way to go since he finished with a wRC+ as high as 144 during that particular run.
No matter what, Riley will have to be healthy (and produce) if the Braves are going to get it done this season since there isn’t a lot behind Riley in case things go sideways again. Nacho Alvarez Jr. is still just 22 but it’s tough to foresee him suddenly turning into a dangerous hitter going forward. His dinger during the WBC was encouraging enough but it is still one of those things where you’d have to squint to believe any scenario that results in Nacho being a feared hitter. Dubón and Mateo may also receive some time here if Riley’s not in there every day and this could also be where we see a Kyle Farmer sighting as well. Both corners of Atlanta’s infield are going to heavily depend on their current starters to stay healthy and produce if the Braves are going to return to where they want to be this season.
Again, I really hate to harp on the whole “health” thing but with a group of guys who are used to playing every day, that is absolutely the key here. I’m not going to go as far as to say that this group of players staying healthy will result in another 100-win season but I will say that the Braves will need this starting core to stay on the field if they’re going to be in the Postseason conversation again.
The depth is better than it was last season and it’ll already be put to the test since Ha-Seong Kim may not be around until May at the earliest. Mauricio Dubón is a good addition to the squad but we likely won’t see him reach his full potential until he’s back to being utilized as a utilityman instead of an everyday player. As long as Dubón can keep the boat afloat at shortstop and the other three starting infielders can get clicking then this particular part of the team should be fine. That’s a big ol’ “should,” though.
