The Braves will open the regular season Friday afternoon against the Mets in New York. In his first opening-day start, Mike Soroka will face Mets ace Jacob deGrom.
Shortly before the game, the Braves added another bat, acquiring outfielder Scott Schebler from Cincinnati for cash considerations. Schebler recently was designated for assignment.
Schebler adds more left-handed power after the Braves picked up Matt Adams earlier this week. Schebler, 29, smacked 30 home runs in 2017 but hasnât found much success since. Heâs hit .232/.322/.401 with 19 homers and 56 RBIs across the past two seasons, spending much of last season in Triple-A. Heâd been playing through shoulder pain during that time, however, and underwent surgery in August.
Now recovered, the Braves will hope Schebler can rediscover some of his offense and perhaps strengthen the teamâs bench at some point. Heâs the third addition the Braves have made before opening day, joining Adams and right-hander Jhoulys Chacin.
A notes roundup before the season gets under way:
Âť The Bravesâ first lineup â and first with the designated hitter in a National League Park â featured Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna at the top. Matt Adams served as the first NL-regular DH in Braves history.
As previously announced, Austin Riley got the nod at third base. He was followed in the lineup by Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte and Alex Jackson.
The Bravesâ lineup Friday:
Acuna
Albies
Freeman
Ozuna
Adams
Riley
Swanson
Inciarte
Jackson
Credit: Atlanta Braves
Âť The Braves traveled to New York on Thursday. They took four buses to the airport, around 15 people per bus. Everyone wore masks on the bus and flight. The Bravesâ path to their hotel was the eeriest part of the experience, according to manager Brian Snitker.
âThat was the eerie part, driving in without much traffic,â he said. âThen you look out your window, not seeing the sea of yellow. Even this morning, Iâm not so sure we arenât the only ones in the hotel. Itâs really, really quiet for a usually busy place.
âThey delivered breakfast this morning. You fill out a menu on an app for the whole series. You have your meals (at the stadium) after batting practice and after the game youâll grab and go take it home with you. Everything is individualized. Same thing with breakfast this morning, they left it at your door. Everything went great. It was smooth. No problems. Easy, really.â
Âť The Braves placed left-hander Cole Hamels on the 45-day injured list Thursday. The earliest he could return would be in September, meaning the Braves will be without their free-agent acquisition for at least half the 60-game season.
Hamels was delayed in spring training because of shoulder discomfort. He was again stalled in summer camp because of triceps tendinitis.
âHopefully if he gets back in September, great,â Snitker said. âHopefully he can get back and help us.â
Left-hander Max Fried added: âHeâs obviously an extreme competitive, and he wants to be out here helping the team. Just in my conversations with him, heâs obviously frustrated heâs not here, but he wants to make sure heâs going to be ready and good to go so there are no setbacks, so once he gets going, heâs ready to help this club get where we need to go.
Credit: Atlanta Braves
Âť Friday marks first baseman Freddie Freemanâs 10th opening day. This one is quite different than the past nine.
âWeâre trying to make it as smooth as we can do,â Freeman said. âYou get to the hotel last night, I didnât leave. I definitely wouldâve gone to dinner here in New York, had a nice meal. But I stayed in my room all night and watched the baseball games. Itâs a little different but everything is running as smoothly as it can go. Everyone is trying to adjust to the new way of life that 2020 is. There are going to be some bumps in the road trying to figure all this out, but so far, so good. No. 10 is a little different and one Iâll always remember.â
âI canât believe itâs two numbers in my opening days now. Itâs been a fun journey. Iâve loved every single one. ... Every one is special. This is going to be different because instead of being in New York, hearing your name called and getting booed - itâs going to be different. Weâre always going to remember the 2020 opening day and season. Iâm looking forward to it. Hopefully Soroka and outduel deGrom and we can score some runs today.â
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