It’s no secret that the Braves have been downright unwatchable at times this season. Team-wide underperformance, injuries to key players, and having a manager on the verge of retirement have clearly made this team unwatchable during a long season.
That said, the team has some big decisions to make this offseason as they attempt to rebuild their roster and reclaim their status as contenders atop the National League. Identifying the players on the roster that the team doesn’t intend to bring back next season is an important facet in this process, as their roster features several players who are already signed to lucrative long-term contracts for next season and beyond, effectively making those players immovable in terms of roster construction for 2026.
Without further ado, let’s take a look into some guys on the 2025 Braves roster who should under no such circumstances feature themselves on the 2026 Braves roster.
Marcell Ozuna
It’s time for the Braves to move on from Marcell Ozuna after six seasons in Atlanta. His tenure with the team can best be described as a rollercoaster, with its thrilling highs and frightening lows making for quite the memorable ride as the exit nears. The 34-year-old designated hitter will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Ozuna has previously shown us that he can’t play the outfield anymore, and with a .228/.357/.402 batting line in 2025, his time as a designated hitter may be at an end. That leaves him without a clear position to play for the Braves, and with the roster already featuring two catchers who can hit (in theory anyway), the odds certainly appear stacked against his return in 2026 in favor of one of the two catchers at DH.
Jarred Kelenic
Kelenic appears to have worn out his welcome after two awful seasons in Atlanta. His offensive statistics with the Braves leave much to be desired, as he’s currently sporting a batting line of .222/.279/.381 in 155 career games played with the team.
The Braves optioned him to AAA on April 28th in favor of Eddie Rosario, and he hasn’t played with the major league ballclub since then despite the many injuries and rampant underperformance that the team’s outfielders have faced this year. This benching was given despite the fact that the team had high expectations for Kelenic after acquiring his services from the Mariners in a 2024 offseason trade, expectations of which ultimately went unfulfilled due to his underperformance.
Still just 26 years old, it’s possible that Kelenic figures things out and resurrects his career in a different uniform, but the Braves organization has given him more than enough opportunities to prove his value to the team heading into the 2026 season.
Nick Allen
Allen is a polarizing player in the world of baseball, as his Statcast profile illustrates. He’s ranked in the 99th percentile for fielding Range grade amongst MLB shortstops, a ranking which credits him with 17 Outs Above Average at the position, which puts him at No. 5 on the OAA leaderboard among MLB players in defensive performance. On the flip side, he’s in the bottom 1st percentile for Batting Run Value amongst all MLB players, carrying a batting slash line of .213/.264/.249 in 128 games this season.
When Ha-Seong Kim was signed by the Braves last week and subsequently placed into the team’s starting lineup, it may have signaled the end of Allen’s tenure here. Kim was given the opportunity to be the everyday SS for the remainder of the 2025 season, and his contract with the team ($16M player option for 2026) indicates that he’ll likely be the starter for next year as well despite Allen’s presence on the roster.
As an arbitration-eligible player this offseason, it’s certainly possible that Allen re-signs with the team and remains on the roster in a backup role behind Kim in 2026. It’s perhaps just as possible though that the team simply elects to non-tender him.
Bryce Elder
Believe it or not, Bryce Elder actually leads the Braves in games started this season. The problem is that his 24 starts haven’t gone all that well though, with him posting a 6-9 record, a 5.54 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and 105 strikeouts in 131 2/3 innings this year.
Elder is under contract for next season, but the Braves have to be hoping (praying) that he spends all or most of next season in Gwinnett if the team aims to compete.
Honorable mention: Tyler Kinley
Kinley has a $5M club option in his contract for next season after the team acquired the veteran reliever’s services from the Colorado Rockies way back on July 30, 2025.
With a 4-0 record, a 0.61 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and 15 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings since joining the team, it’s not as if Kinley has done anything to run the risk of his option not being picked up; however, it’s understood that MLB teams are rightfully weary of 34-year-old relievers who are set to make $5M under a new coaching staff next year.
Has the team gotten enough of a look at Kinley in 2025 to make such a big decision?
The Sports Beacon 