MLB Insider Sounds Off On Braves 'Shocking' Spiral

The Atlanta Braves' spiral continues as they head to Milwaukee on a seven-game losing streak. With each loss, this result still feels surprising. Cold spells happen, but not even the top insiders in baseball could have foreseen this.

"What has happened to them is unexpected, and it's borderline shocking," Ken Rosenthal said on his Fair Territory podcast.

Rosenthal admitted that he had the Braves back in the World Series this year. With the talent still on hand, he thought they "were that good." With the turnaround nowhere in sight, it opens the doors to reviewing major question marks.

A major one pointed out by Rosenthal was the loss of leadership in the clubhouse the last few seasons, whether it be Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson or Max Fried departing in free agency. It changes the dynamic of the team and that change could be translating to more games in the loss column.

Another point, and this one had already been under the microscope for a bit, is how the roster has been built.

"They had a bad offseason, he said. "And even going into the season, we kinda knew that."

Rosenthal felt the bullpen wasn't addressed. AJ Minter left in free agency and Joe Jimenez is hurt. Those spots never truly got reinforced. Adding to his point, they looked at potential options such as Jeff Hoffman and Tanner Scott, but those deals didn't materialize for one reason or another.

A lot has gone wrong for the Braves. Some are unexpected, such as all-stars heavily underperforming, but some could have been addressed before the season. General manager Alex Anthopoulos gets some flack on that front even with all the talent he's locked down.

Rosenthal emphasized again that he doesn't see Brian Snitker being fired. No matter what crys are called out on social media, it's not happening.

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