2016 State Of The NL East: Atlanta Braves

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Mar 3, 2016; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) hits a solo home run during the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Detroit Tigers at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

We begin our look at the 2016 NL East by previewing the Atlanta Braves with Alan Carpenter of Tomahawk Take

With the regular season less than two weeks away, we wanted to take a look at the other teams in the NL East along with the Washington Nationals. Today, we begin our 2016 State Of The NL East series with the Atlanta Braves, one of the teams who are in the midst of a serious rebuild in the NL East.

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Last season, the Braves finished in fourth place in the NL East with a 67-95 record. After being three games under .500 in the first half of the year, Fredi Gonzalez’s squad went 25-48 in the second half of the season and they lost 14 of the 19 games they played against the Nats. Of course, everyone remembers the Dan Uggla home run in Atlanta last April that capped an eight-run comeback.

This season, this Braves team looks completely different. They dealt away shortstop Andrelton Simmons to the Los Angeles Angels for Erick Aybar and two pitching prospects, traded outfielder Cameron Maybin to the Tigers, and traded starter Shelby Miller to the Arizona Diamondbacks for outfielder Ender Inciarte, pitching prospect Aaron Blair, and last year’s number one pick in the draft, shortstop Dansby Swanson.