With his torn left ACL almost healed, Ronald Acuna, Jr. could be a major factor in Atlanta’s drive … [+]
They’re back. And they’re healthy again.
After an unrelenting injury wave that hit the 2024 Atlanta Braves like a tsunami, a version of the team has started prepping for the new season in North Port, FL.
Losing his best hitter and best pitcher before Memorial Day last year cost the club a chance to win its seventh straight division title in the National League East but both are expected back well before the new season reaches that marker again.
So says manager Brian Snitker, at 69 the oldest manager in the National League but one who has seen it all – from a 90-loss season in 2017, his first full year at the helm, to 104 in 2023. In between, he won a world championship and Manager of the Year award.
Snitker and the Braves believe they can make it back to the Fall Classic again, especially when injured superstars Ronald Acuna, Jr. and Spencer Strider return.
Manager’s Prediction
“That will be like trading for a great hitter and a great pitcher,” Snitker told media gathered for the opening of workouts at CoolToday Park Wednesday.
Last year, Snitker was almost an ambulance driver instead of a manager.
Getting Spencer Strider back on the mound as soon as possible is a top priority for the Atlanta … [+]
After leading both leagues in wins (20) and strikeouts (281) the year before, Strider made only one healthy start before requiring an elbow brace procedure that cost him virtually the entire season.
And Acuna tore his left ACL running the bases in Pittsburgh May 26 and never returned. He too needed surgical repair – and now has to trust that he can still steal bases after swiping a club-record 73 two years ago.
They weren’t Atlanta’s only casualties – just the most essential.
Key Players Hurt
Catcher Sean Murphy (oblique), second baseman Ozzie Albies (toe, wrist), third baseman Austin Riley (wrist), and center fielder Michael Harris II (severe hamstring strain) all missed at least two months. In fact, the lineup Snitker wrote on Opening Day played a grand total of six innings together over the entire 162-game season.
A stoic, fatherly presence perfectly matched to his young team, Snitker is an organization man who places enormous faith in his coaches and instructors.
“I trust my staff,” he told MLB Network before the team’s workout. “The more I can stay out of the way, the better things are going to run.”
He no longer relies on Ron Washington, the long-time third-base coach known for daily drills with infielders, but he does defer to pitching coach Rick Kranitz, called Kranny by his charges partly out of affection but also because it rhymes with Granny.
Kranitz has white hair but he’s not running up a white flag of surrender after losing starters Max Fried and Charlie Morton plus relievers A.J. Minter and Jesse Chavez to free agency.
When Strider returns, he’ll join a rotation led by reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale plus holdovers Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Schwellenbach, with erstwhile World Series hero Ian Anderson and swingman Grant Holmes bidding to complete the group.
Sidearming southpaw Chris Sale won his first Cy Young Award last season. (Photo by Justin … [+]
Raisel Iglesias is one of the game’s best closers.
For the season to be a success, the Braves need their hitters to recapture their 2023 form. The lineup suffered a season-long slump last year, with Matt Olson dropping from a club-record 54 homers to 29 and neither Albies nor Riley coming anywhere close to their previous 30-homer seasons. In fact, veteran designated hitter Marcell Ozuna not only flirted with a Triple Crown but led the team’s offense in every category but stolen bases a year ago. He’s got incentive to do even better because he can test free agency this fall.
Until Acuna returns, the team will put its trust in Harris, a 24-year-old Atlanta native who is already a gifted center-fielder. Either he or switch-hitter Jurickson Profar, a 2024 All-Star with San Diego, will lead off in Acuna’s absence. The only major free-agent signee, Profar got three years for $42 million.
Hot Rookie Catcher
Another newcomer, rookie catcher Drake Baldwin, could crack the lineup if Murphy continues his inexplicable batting slump. Baldwin has makes contact, hits with power, and adds much-needed left-handed punch. Only Olson, Jarred Kelenic, and the switch-hitting Albies and Profar also hit with authority from the left side.
The only question-mark in the order is shortstop Orlando Arcia, a defensive whiz who could be challenged by a new arrival named Nacho Alvarez. The Braves don’t expect much from Arcia, who bats last, but do think Kelenic could finally realize his power potential. At least they’ll give him another chance after his disappointing debut in Atlanta.
The team’s secret weapon could be new hitting coach Tim Hyers, an Atlanta native instrumental in helping the Texas Rangers win their only world championship in 2023. He’ll try to convince Braves hitters to show more patience at the plate, walk more, and stop striking out so often.
Both FanGraphs and PECOTA, computerized prognosticators, rate the NL East baseball’s best division – especially since the Mets signed Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million contract that is the largest and longest in professional sports history. The Phillies will counter with Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler.
If Acuna returns to full strength, however, the Braves will still have the best right-fielder in the division, if not the game. His 40/70 season of 2023 was unprecedented and his .337 batting average was a career high.
The Braves were conspicuously quiet during the winter, letting potential free agents targets Willy Adames sign with San Francisco, Joc Pederson join Texas, and Jack Flaherty return to Detroit.
Roster Resource ranks Atlanta’s $212 million projected payroll eighth in the majors, trailing both of its key division rivals, but the Braves are banking on a supporting cast of talented rookies earning the major-league minimum of $780,000.
