Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good? We give an overview of team strengths, weaknesses, and other things to know, using Defensive Runs Saved and other stats as the basis for our evaluation. To see the full series, click here.
2025 Team Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 5th
Team Strengths
The Braves have the best defensive first baseman in baseball in Matt Olson, who never misses a game, so there’s never a moment of weakness at the position. Olson is as close to perfect a first baseman as there is, with great range and good throw-handling. Our Data Scouts track Defensive Misplays (plays with a negative consequence not scored as errors). Olson had 13 Misplays & Errors last season, the fewest he’s had in any full MLB season.
Most Defensive Runs Saved – 1st Base – Last 3 Seasons
| Player | Runs Saved |
| Matt Olson | 38 |
| Carlos Santana | 32 |
| Christian Walker | 9 |
| Ryan Mountcastle | 9 |
| Spencer Steer | 9 |
The Braves also have a solid center fielder in Michael Harris II, who has posted 7, 2, 11, and 6 Runs Saved in his four MLB seasons. He’s still young, having just turned 25. I’m surprised he’s never had a season with 15 Runs Saved or more given how good he is at going back on balls to take away extra-base hits, but it just shows how hard it is to be that good as a center fielder (it’s really hard!)
Catcher Sean Murphy matched his career high of 10 Runs Saved last season and did it more on his strengths of blocking pitches and limiting stolen bases than framing. Murphy’s issue has been staying on the field. He caught 69 and 76 games the last two years. The Braves other catcher, Drake Baldwin rated well as a pitch blocker but gave up stolen bases in abundance last season (88 in 101 attempts). He had -2 Runs Saved in 97 games.
Free agent signee Mike Yastrzemski, a pretty good right fielder, will probably play both left field and right field for the Braves. He hasn’t played left field semi-regularly since 2019 but had 5, 5, and 7 Runs Saved in left field the last three seasons. He’s in his age-35 season but has held up well, playing 140 and 146 games the last two years. We had a great conversation with him about defense two years ago that you can listen to here. We fully expect him to be coaching outfielders someday.
Team Weaknesses
Ronald Acuña Jr. had a rough time of it in the 91 games he played right field last season, finishing with -12 Runs Saved. He’ll be back out there again in 2026, though he could DH against left-handed pitching if the Braves play Eli White in right field.
The loss of Jurickson Profar to suspension isn’t a significant one from a defensive perspective though it is a significant one from an outfield depth perspective. He had -8 and -9 Runs Saved in left field the last two seasons.
Fewest Defensive Runs Saved – Right Field Last 3 Seasons
| Player | Runs Saved |
| Nick Castellanos | -31 |
| Jordan Walker | -24 |
| Ronald Acuña Jr. | -21 |
Other Things To Know
Austin Riley used to be a strength at third base but he hasn’t played like one the last two seasons, with 0 and -2 Runs Saved. Ozzie Albies, also normally a good defender, had his worst season last year (-3 Runs Saved). Both players are in their age-29 season, so they’re not in a significant period of decline just yet.
The Braves made an interesting swap last year trading Nick Allen’s defensive excellence to the Astros to get Mauricio Dubon’s defensive versatility. Dubon has never played more than 33 games at shortstop in a season but is expected to be the Braves’ starter there. He’s typically a better fit at second base but that spot is occupied by Ozzie Albies.
Are the Braves A Good Defensive Team?
Yes, though they were better with Allen then they’ll probably be without him. Still, they can put out a lineup that on most nights will have only one consistently below-average defender in it, which a lot of teams can’t do.
