For all of the lack of movement made this offseason with free agents and/or potential trades, the Atlanta Braves still field one of the best rosters in Major League Baseball. That should provide Braves fans added excitement and optimism with spring training well underway.

Consider the roster:

First baseman Matt Olson is a year removed from a 54-home run season which netted him a fourth-place finish in the Most Valuable Player award voting.

Second baseman Ozzie Albies is a career .270 hitter with two 30-plus home run seasons, and he is a three-time All-Star.

Third baseman Austin Riley is a clutch hitter with three top-10 MVP finishes and 127 homers in the last four seasons.

Outfielder Michael Harris II is three years removed from a Rookie of the Year season and was the Braves’ lone bright spot in last year’s playoff loss to the San Diego Padres with five hits and one homer.

Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna was an MVP candidate last year with 39 homers and 104 RBIs.

Outfielder Jurickson Profar was the team’s biggest acquisition this winter, batting .280 with 24 homers and 85 RBIs with the Padres last year.

Chris Sale, last year’s National League Cy Young Award winner, returns to lead a rotation that is still formidable. He did tally a career-high 18 wins last year with a league-low 2.38 ERA and league-high 225 strikeouts.

Starter Reynaldo Lopez posted a 1.99 ERA last season in 25 starts. Spencer Schwellenbach was a revelation as a rookie, finishing 8-7 with a 3.35 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 123.2 innings.

Raisel Iglesia, Pierce Johnson, Dylan Lee, and Aaron Bummer provide experience in the bullpen.

The team will only get better when its best player and past MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. and hurler Spencer Strider return from injuries that sidelined them most of the 2024 season.

The roster is experienced and talented enough to contend for a National League East Division title. Can it overcome the free-spending, world-class Los Angeles Dodgers? Probably not, but last year’s World Series champs may be all that is stopping the Braves from returning to the Fall Classic. That and the injury bug that bit the Braves early and often last year.

Here’s hoping for good health.