This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
NORTH PORT, Fla. – Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim underwent finger surgery after slipping on ice in January, and both Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep underwent elbow surgeries within the first two weeks of Spring Training. Another starting pitcher, Joey Wentz, was lost to an ACL tear, and Jurickson Profar received a 162-game suspension after again testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance. Three days before Opening Day, Spencer Strider went down with an oblique strain.
Other than that, things went smoothly for Walt Weiss during his first Spring Training as the Braves’ manager.
“I like where we're at,” Weiss said. “I like the way the camp has gone. I like our club.”
Yeah, there are 29 other MLB managers saying something similar right now. But even with this early adversity, there is a lot to like about the 2026 Braves.
World Baseball Classic champion Ronald Acuña Jr. is healthy and creating reason to think that even with two surgically repaired knees he might be able to mimic his historic 2023 season. Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies also appear to be healthier than they were in either of the past two seasons.
Will this be the year Michael Harris II takes his game to an elite level? That’s the expectation of Matt Olson, who, by the end of this season, could be widely viewed as the game’s best first baseman.
As for the rotation, Chris Sale seems poised to aim for another Cy Young Award, and both Reynaldo López and Grant Holmes look healthy. The starting pitching depth is concerning, but there’s a chance Schwellenbach and Waldrep are back by late June or early July.
“We've got a lot of talented players that had subpar years last summer,” Weiss said. “So, it is nice to see them perform in Spring Training. I believe in the guys we have, because they've done it before. It's not like we're sitting here wishful thinking,”
What needs to go right?
There was no way for the Braves to overcome six different starting pitchers missing at least six weeks last year, especially with Acuña, Riley and Albies all having down years. This year, the injuries suffered by Schwellenbach, Waldrep, Strider and Wentz have left no room for error in relation to the rotation’s health. As for any concerns about how the rotation might perform, the offense and bullpen are both strong enough to cover a lot of warts.
All 30 teams recognize the significance of staying as healthy as possible throughout the season. The difference for the Braves is the fact that they are entering the season with no margin for error.
Great unknown: Spencer Strider
Strider was the game’s most dynamic pitcher before undergoing a second major elbow surgery in 2024. Can he get back to being the guy who struck out nearly 40 percent of the batters he faced from 2022-23? That might be asking a lot. But what he has shown during Spring Training might not be what we see once the regular season begins. If he no longer has his overpowering fastball and great slider, can he rely on command and the mixture of his two breaking balls to remain one of the game’s top starters? His determination makes it hard to bet against him. But for now, he stands as Atlanta’s great unknown.
That question got a little bit murkier on Monday, when news broke that the right-hander would start the season on the injured list with an oblique strain. Strider threw 125 1/3 innings last season after tossing just nine innings during an injury-shortened '24 campaign.
Team MVP will be: Acuña
As long as he is healthy, he should fill this spot. Riley is going to hit 30-plus homers, and Olson seems primed for another MVP-caliber season. But in terms of pure talent, Shohei Ohtani is the only player in the game who can rival what Acuña brings to the yard on a daily basis.
Team Cy Young will be: Chris Sale
Sale assumed 2024 would be his final season. But then he won his first Cy Young Award and signed an extension that could keep him with the Braves through at least the 2028 season. He’s 37, but he’s still tasting consistent success and strengthening his Hall of Fame resume.
Bold prediction
We could go with Riley stealing 15-plus bases with the help of new first base coach Antoan Richardson. That would be bold. We could go with Grant Holmes earning an All-Star selection. That too would be bold, but calculated. But let’s go with Acuña going 40-40 and Harris going 30-30. They would be just the fourth teammate duo to do this in a season. But you asked for bold.