Why New York Mets-Atlanta Braves rivalry should heat up in 2025

The New York Mets are gunning for the juggernaut Atlanta Braves in 2025. The Mets were two wins from the World Series last year and now have Juan Soto.

Sep 30, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) celebrates after a two-run home run with third baseman Mark Vientos (27) against the Atlanta Braves in the ninth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

With the New York Mets adding starting pitcher José Ureña on a minor league deal, their rivalry with the Atlanta Braves has the potential to become one of MLB's best in 2025.

Ureña, 33, signed a minor league deal with New York after injuries to starters Sean Manaea (strained oblique) and Frankie Montas (strained lat) project to put them out of commission for the team's Opening Day roster. While both injuries are not seen as severe enough for them to miss a majority of the season, both pitchers are expected to begin the season on the injured list.

Read more: Do the New York Mets have enough starting pitching depth?

In a National League East that is already top heavy, with the Braves and Philadelphia Phillies having played in two of the last four World Series (and Atlanta winning in 2021), New York's widely considered to be in third place behind the two powerhouses despite bringing in generational slugger Juan Soto on MLB's largest-ever free agent contract.

But no matter where the teams all project to finish, New York is aiming to knock off their Atlanta rivals and win the NL East for the first time since 2015, a year that also saw them win the NL pennant.

Since that season, the Mets have come close to winning the division on a few occasions but couldn't quite seem to get past Atlanta. Most notably, New York tied the Braves in 2022 with a 101-61 record, losing the division via head-to-head tiebreaker; the Mets' best season since 1986 was still not enough to get past the then-reigning World Series champions.

But in 2024, the Braves weren't as scary for New York. The Mets went into the season's final day needing to win one game in a doubleheader to lock up a postseason berth. Down 3-0 in the 8th inning of game one, it looked lost. But six Mets runs in the 8th gave New York a temporary lead, one that Atlanta would steal back in the bottom half of the inning to go up 7-6 entering the 9th.

And then Francisco Lindor called game. Lindor's two-run homer staked the Mets to a 8-7 lead, a margin that would stand and propel New York into the playoffs. The magic continued, with a run all the way to the National League Championship Series. While the Mets lost to the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, it was an announcement that this Mets roster is pushing for a changing of the guard in the National League East.

At #8, Francisco Lindor's clutch 2-run HR against the Braves sent the @Mets to the Postseason!

📺 MLB Network pic.twitter.com/vB87FdUnVZ

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 12, 2025

The way New York is pushing to take over the division is becoming almost personally targeted towards Atlanta. One of the key young players this season for New York is Luisangel Acuña, the younger brother of Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr., who won NL MVP in 2023.

And then there's the signing of Ureña. A former member of the Miami Marlins from 2015-2020, Ureña and the elder Acuña have a...history. The players faced off in four separate games in 2018, with Ureña's final appearance against Acuña and the Braves lasting exactly one pitch. Acuña, on a streak of five consecutive games with a homer and three straight games with a leadoff homer, was hit by the hardest pitch of Ureña's entire season (97.5 mph) to open the contest.

Benches clear in Marlins-Braves after José Ureña hits Ronald Acuña Jr. in 1st inning.

Acuña Jr. (5 straight games with HR, 3 straight with leadoff HR) exits in 2nd inning. pic.twitter.com/V2aSu97YEX

— MLB (@MLB) August 16, 2018

Benches cleared, Ureña and Braves manager Brian Snitker were both ejected, and the fallout was extensive: a six-game suspension and a fine for Ureña, a one-game suspension and fine for Braves first-base coach Eric Young Sr., and several public comments from both side of the rivalry.

It's not a given that Ureña gets to face Atlanta as a member of the Mets this season. Signed on a minor-league deal, he'd need to make the roster during the injury absences of Manaea and Montas. Even if Ureña does make the Opening Day roster as a back-end starter or longman, will he still be a member of the team when these two teams first meet up in mid-June?

The biggest question is this: If Ureña hits Ronald Acuña yet again, what does Luisangel Acuña do?