Phillies firmly in NL East driver's seat after Braves' hilariously horrendous start

The Philadelphia Phillies are off to an impressive 5-1 start and find themselves sitting 1.5 games ahead of the Miami Marlins for sole possession of first place in the NL East less than a week into the 2025 season. Everything seems to be clicking on all cylinders for the Phillies right now.

Kyle Schwarber is obliterating baseballs, offseason trade acquisition Jesús Luzardo had an impressive 11-strikeout debut, and the starting pitching staff is once again leading the way. While Phillies fans are basking in the team's early-season success, it's a much different story in Atlanta, where the NL East division rival Braves are off to one of the worst starts in team history.

But before we get to the gloom and doom currently taking hold in Atlanta, the Phillies are set to take on the scorching hot Los Angeles Dodgers for a highly anticipated three-game series beginning on Friday.

Fresh off sweeping the Braves earlier this week, the 2024 World Series champs have been nothing short of a juggernaut to begin the season. They arrive at Citizens Bank Park sporting a spotless 8-0 record and a half game lead over the San Diego Padres (7-0) in the NL West.

With the Phillies and Dodgers both off to hot starts in 2025, is it too early to call this upcoming series a postseason preview?

Phillies firmly in NL East driver's seat after Braves' hilariously horrendous start

To get back to the postseason, the Phillies will have to remain healthy and stave off increased competition from within their division. That's increasingly clear after the NL East sent three teams to the postseason last year. Prior to Opening Day, it looked like history would repeat itself again this season. But after suffering a demoralizing walk-off loss against the Dodgers on Wednesday night, the once dangerous Braves already appear dead in the water after opening the season winless and riding a brutal seven-game losing streak.

There were plenty of signs heading into the season that the Braves were likely to face an uphill battle to begin the season. That fact was further reinforced from the outset of spring training with perennial Cy Young Award candidate Spencer Strider and 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr both sidelined and rehabbing from injuries and not available to start the season. If that wasn't enough, the Braves announced earlier this week that starter Reynaldo López will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right-shoulder and placed him on the 60-day IL.

To make matters worse, the Braves' record now stands at 0-7 after being swept by the Dodgers in demoralizing fashion via a Shohei Ohtani opposite field walk-off blast on Wednesday. Even more noteworthy is that no team in the Braves' 154-year history has ever made it to the postseason when starting the season winless after the first six games. Plus, no team in MLB history has ever made the postseason after starting 0-7.

History is not on Braves manager Brian Snitker's side as he and his team try to get back in the win column. While injuries are partly to blame for the team's worst start since 2016, the Braves' offense hasn't exactly been mashing at the plate to begin this season either.

Nothing has gone right for the Braves this season

With Acuña likely out until May and primary catcher Sean Murphy on a rehab assignment, the Braves' front office had hoped that offseason addition Jurickson Profar would add more thump to a lineup that's currently down a couple of dangerous bats. Those hopes were quickly dashed when Profar was suspended 80 games by MLB for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug earlier this week. He had only appeared in four games before the lengthy suspension was handed down.

After signing a three-year, $42 million deal this offseason, the 2024 NL All-Star won't return to the Braves lineup until June. Barring a miracle turnaround, Profar would also be ineligible for a postseason roster, even if his team does get back on track this season.

The loss of Profar should open the door for recent free agent signing Alex Verdugo to carve out a significant role for the Braves over the next few months. While talented, the 28-year-old former Dodgers top prospect infamously wore out his welcome during unremarkable stints with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, publicly clashing with managers Alex Cora and Aaron Boone.

It's possible that Verdugo's humbling experience as a free agent this winter readjusted his attitude a bit. Braves fans will be crossing their fingers that Verdugo can at least provide the Braves with league-average production with Acuña Jr. and Profar out of the lineup.

Offensive production isn't the only issue facing the Braves to start the season. Atlanta's pitching staff is also decimated by injuries. In addition to having Strider and López on the shelf, the Braves also lost reliable left-handed starter Max Fried in free agency. Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale is still penciled in as the No. 1 starter. However, a rotation currently consisting of Bryce Elder, Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver and Grant Holmes is mostly unproven and appears noticeably weaker this season.

While there's plenty of baseball left to be played, the Braves will have to right the ship soon and finally get in the win column if they hope to pose any kind of challenge to the Phillies and Mets in the NL East this season. Either way, the 0-7 start is a tough break for a franchise that came into the season expecting to compete for another World Series title in 2025.

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