It was the day before Postseason and all through the house, there were bats cracking all around as the Atlanta Braves officially got their pre-Wild Card Series workout underway for what they hope is a long, deep run into the Postseason.
There was plenty of activity from the Braves from outside of the actual workout. One of the big stories is that Bryce Elder threw live BP. While Joe Jiménez threw a live BP as well, the idea is that Jiménez may just be doing work ahead of the 2026 season and figures to be a longshot for potentially getting into action at any point before the NLCS. The same goes for Elder, who may also have the NLCS in his sights for his potential return — though his return seems far more likely this Postseason.
Elder talked with the media following his live BP and he didn’t exactly express a ton of confidence that he’d back for the NLDS if the Braves got that far. “I’m going to give it everything I have but also we’ve got the checklist and things I’ve got to hit and if the checklist is too long to get back then I won’t be able to go,” stated Elder when he was asked by Mark Bowman about potentially returning by the NLDS. “I’m going to try everything [the training staff] has got for me and try to be as good as I can at it and progress as fast as I can. We’ll see how early that is.”
With that being said, when I asked him to grade how he was feeling on a 0-100 scale (obviously not 100 just yet), he stated that he was feeling “Pretty high. For being three weeks out, I didn’t know that I’d feel this good. I feel really good and I’m just trying not to push it too much and have a setback.”
Once the workout was done, Chris Sale, Matt Olson and Walt Weiss all spoke to the media for a press conference and the vibe was generally positive surrounding the Braves and how they’re feeling about being able to play for an opportunity to go to the NLDS. I asked Walt Weiss about how important the home field advantage was, especially knowing that all three games would be played here in Cobb County and he responded that he thinks that it’s “huge” for them to be playing these games at home.
“You’ve obviously got to go out and play well,” continued Weiss. “If you don’t play well, it doesn’t matter where you’re playing — you’re not going to win. We play well here, though. It’s a great atmosphere, the guys really enjoy playing here in front of this crowd, so I think it’s a big deal.”
When he was asked about what it was like seeing nearly the entire team standing on the rail to watch Bryce Elder and Joe Jiménez throw their live BPs, Weiss talked more about the level of clubhouse harmony that’s existing at the moment. “The ideal clubhouse is one that’s loose and fun, but focused. I think that’s what they are,” explained Weiss. “I think they really look forward to getting here every day so they can be in that environment in that clubhouse because I think they love being together. When it’s time to play, the focus is good and that’s when they take care of it.”
Speaking of taking care of business, the Braves have certainly gotten it done on defense this season. As I mentioned in the preview, the Braves have graded very high on defense this season and that could make all the difference during this time of year. It could especially mean a lot when you have a guy like Chris Sale on the mound, who expressed plenty of confidence in his defense when I asked him about it during the press conference.
“I’ve felt confident in my defense all year,” stated Sale. “As a pitcher, strikeouts are cool but most of your outs are going to come either on the ground or in the air. Being able to lean on those guys and have confidence that if the ball’s on the ground, someone’s going to get there. Our outfield, those guys are unbelievable and have really strong arms.”
“You look at some of the plays that have been made throughout the season across the the entire infield, we have multiple Gold Glovers out there. It’s a nice thing to have as a pitcher and it gives you more confidence to keep throwing strikes and use those guys behind you.”
One of those guys is Matt Olson, who has provided another great season of defense at first base — which is what you’d expect from someone who has some Gold Gloves and Fielding Bible Awards in his personal trophy cabinet. He’s also been part of the machine that this lineup turns into late in games and in high leverage situations. I asked him about those late moments and he did explain that it’s like the confidence is interwoven into the team at this point.
“Sometimes it just kind of becomes your DNA a little bit as a season goes on,” explained Olson. “It’s not like you try harder or change anything in those scenarios. I think it’s just when it comes time to put up or shut up, some guys just show up and rise to the occasion.”
Lastly, the bullpen has also played a role in those late-game turnarounds that the Braves have benefited from some many times during the regular season. When Chris Sale was asked by Jesús Cano about the bullpen during the press conference, he was his usual effusive self when it came to praising the bullpen and particularly those who come behind him during his starts.
“You’re talking about the hardest outs to get towards the end of the game,” started Sale. “It just seems like whoever they hand the ball off to, it’s shut-down. I like to look at the box score at the end of a game so I can show some love to some guys who deserve it and I’ve been like ”Dammit, every time I look at these box scores, I’m the only pitcher to give up runs!“
“It’s me and then [Dylan] Dodd comes in after that and then [Raisel Iglesias] throws or it’s [Dylan Lee] and [Didier Fuentes] and whoever it is and it’s like me [giving up two or three] and then [the bullpen gives up] zero, zero, zero. You do that five-or-six times and it’s like ‘Man, I gotta step it up a bit!’ But that goes to show you how solid they’ve been throughout the year and how much trust we have in them,” continued Sale. “To be able to walk off the mound after putting everything you’ve got into it and hand the ball off to someone you have all the trust in the world in. Even if it doesn’t go well, you know that that was the right move and that they put the work in to be set up for success.”
As was mentioned by Weiss during his portion of the press conference, the ballclub definitely seems loose-but-focused when it comes to returning to the Postseason. They know they have a familiar opponent to deal with and they know that they’ve got the upper hand with home field advantage and also having been able to set things up ahead of time while the Phillies have only just clinched their spot in the Postseason. They’re also under no delusions that this will be easy but that comes with the territory of the Postseason.
Weiss has maintained that while the Braves are talented, they haven’t gotten this far on talent alone. We’re likely to see those intangibles at play once the Postseason gets rocking and rolling for the Braves on Tuesday afternoon.
