NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Coming off two injury-shortened seasons, Austin Riley is looking forward to getting back to where he was at the end of the 2023 season, when he joined an exclusive club that includes just three other Braves -- each of whom is a Hall of Famer.
“If I don’t hit 30-plus homers and drive in 90-100 runs, I kind of feel like it’s a wash of a season,” Riley said. “That’s what they’re paying me to do and those are my goals. So, I expect it every year. I expect it every year for however many years I have left on my contract.”
Riley signed the largest contract in Braves history on Aug. 1, 2022, when he signed a 10-year, $212 million deal. He finished the first season (2023) of the contract standing alongside Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Andruw Jones as the only Braves to tally three 30-homer, 90-RBI seasons at 26 or younger.
Everything was great until the injury bug repeatedly bit Riley over the past two seasons. An oblique strain limited him during the early part of the 2024 season, which was ended by a fractured right hand in August. An abdominal strain first felt just before the All-Star break last year led to season-ending sports hernia surgery this past August.
Regardless of these frustrating seasons in the past, and with his confidence restored during an unrestricted offseason, Riley has come to Spring Training with an extra hop in his step and that special pop in his bat. He hit three consecutive opposite-field home runs during an impressive round of batting practice on Monday.
“I know things happen,” Riley said. “But to be where I am mentally and to be where I feel physically, plus with the changes we’ve made this offseason, this is the most excited I’ve been as far as where I am at the start of Spring Training.”
Braves hitting coach Tim Hyers visited Riley’s hometown of Southaven, Miss., for a few days this winter to help the veteran slugger regain a feel for that swing that brought him so much success in the past. Hyers was encouraged with the results and he has certainly liked what he has seen since camp started.
“He’s such a joy to be around,” Hyers said. “He loves playing catalyst in the middle of that lineup and obviously he’s a threat to pitchers and they know where he is and they definitely don’t want to pitch to him with people on base. He’s a big part of this group and it’s such a joy working with him, even last year when he was going through the battles, because he is such a true competitor.”
That competitive spirit was tested last year. Riley remained limited by the fracture he had suffered when his right hand was hit by Angels pitcher Jack Kochanowicz’s 97-mph fastball on Aug. 18, 2024. The injury forced him to be in a cast for 14 weeks. That three-plus month stretch was followed by the need to re-strengthen the atrophied muscles in his hand, wrist and forearm. He wasn’t even cleared to begin hitting until some point in January.
The sports hernia surgery performed this past summer didn’t limit Riley this offseason. So, there’s reason the two-time All-Star is confident he can get back to where he was when he finished top seven in National League MVP balloting three straight seasons (2021-23).
“The sports hernia, I’m not even thinking about it,” Riley said. “The hand, I’m not even thinking about it. So, having a whole offseason getting to do what I’ve done in the past is huge.”
Riley has proven he can produce the huge numbers necessary to justify his huge contract. Now that he has had a chance to rest his body and recharge his mind, he’s ready to get back to doing things that the likes of Aaron, Mathews and Jones used to do for the Braves.
“I love where I’m at right now,” Riley said.