Atlanta remaining confident as squad returns to full strength in 2025
Mark Bowman
@mlbbowmanNORTH PORT, Fla. -- When Spencer Strider and A.J. Minter made their ¡°World Series or bust¡± proclamations during the early days of Spring Training last year, they didn¡¯t realize the Braves¡¯ optimistic hopes would be busted by an incredible rash of significant injuries.
So, considering how the 2024 season played out, will the Braves be making more bold preseason statements this year?
¡°I think it¡¯s the same every year,¡± catcher Sean Murphy said. ¡°I think the goal at the end of the year is the World Series. I think anything short of that is a disappointment.¡±
The message is the same, but these exact words aren¡¯t as bold as the ones Strider and Minter expressed at this time last year, before both joined the list of the team¡¯s stars who suffered season-ending injuries.
¡°The confidence is still there, but we are not going to be making any statements,¡± first baseman Matt Olson said with a slight chuckle. ¡°Baseball is a crazy sport. It¡¯s a long season. Anything can happen. If the best team on paper was awarded the trophy every year, then we¡¯d just skip the season. It's not how it works. So we are very confident in the team we have. But no blanket statements this year.¡±
In other words, the Braves are well aware of the many additions the defending World Series champion Dodgers have made. They also know they¡¯ll be seeing much more of Juan Soto, who highlighted the Mets¡¯ offseason acquisitions.
But at the same time, Atlanta knows that it also has one of the game¡¯s best rosters. The Braves were World Series favorites before their head athletic trainer George Poulis became baseball¡¯s busiest man last year.
¡°Nobody felt sorry for us,¡± Braves third baseman Austin Riley said. ¡°We gave ourselves a chance. We made the playoffs and that's all you can ask for. It didn't work out. But, 2024 was a weird year.¡±
Considering six of the nine members of Atlanta¡¯s Opening Day lineup, plus Strider, the Opening Day starting pitcher, each missed at least two months because of injuries last year, the Braves were justified to feel good about still making the playoffs. But when you consider what they had, you certainly were asking for far more than what amounted to a very brief postseason appearance, getting swept by the Padres in the NL Wild Card Series.
¡°It kind of seemed like we never got our head fully above water,¡± 2024 National League Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale said. ¡°It seemed like one thing after another. It was just bad luck or bad timing.¡±
Or maybe just one incredibly long bad dream. Murphy was lost for two months when he strained his left oblique with a swing in the sixth inning of an Opening Day win in Philadelphia. Strider¡¯s Cy Young Award candidacy evaporated when he suffered a season-ending elbow injury one week later. Ronald Acuña Jr.¡¯s bid to win a second straight MVP Award ended when he tore his left ACL near the end of May.
Riley¡¯s season ended when he fractured his right hand on Aug. 17, exactly one week after Minter threw his final pitch before undergoing season-ending left hip surgery. Switch-hitting second baseman Ozzie Albies missed two months with a fractured left wrist, and then only batted right-handed when he returned during the regular season¡¯s final week.
So, it¡¯s easy to understand why this first week of Spring Training has been refreshing to Braves manager Brian Snitker, who is preparing for his 49th season in professional baseball. Snitker will feel even better when his team becomes whole with the returns of Strider, who could return from right elbow surgery by the end of April, and Acu?a, who could return from knee surgery at some point in May.
¡°We¡¯re still a really good team,¡± Snitker said. ¡°We¡¯re going to play for seven months. So, it doesn¡¯t really matter who wins the offseason or who does what. You start putting the names to paper. You screw around with lineups and ours is really good.¡±
Good enough for another ¡°World Series or bust¡± proclamation?
¡°We just want to be healthy,¡± Riley said. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any statement that needs to be made. If we can get through 162 [games] healthy, I like our chances.¡±