In the middle of next month, the Braves will descend upon North Port, Florida, for spring training.
Ronald Acuña Jr. will take batting practice. Matt Olson will field ground balls. Michael Harris II and the rest of the outfielders will work on their routes. Spencer Strider and Max Fried will throw bullpen sessions as they continue ramping up.
We will have baseball – real baseball – to discuss.
Not hypotheticals, but actual baseball.
The offseason can be fun and interesting because it’s full of fodder. Trades. Free-agent signings. Rumors. And on and on. We can debate so much.
But eventually, we want to see, with our own eyes, how it all plays out.
Hang tight because we’re almost there.
The Braves’ pitchers and catchers report to North Port on Feb. 14. The position players are scheduled to report by Feb. 19.
Here are five things to look forward to as Braves spring training begins next month.
Check the vibe
One terrific part of spring training: Each year, a team reports with a specific attitude. It seems cheesy, but you can almost feel it.
The Braves will be motivated from last year’s early exit – the second in the past two years – and will have another division title, and a World Series, on their minds.
Younger teams might simply want to stay in the hunt for as long as possible. Other teams might feel like everyone has chosen to sleep on them.
When everyone reports to spring training, there’s a certain vibe in the clubhouse. Everyone is excited. But each team has a story from the last year that feeds into its attitude.
In last year’s National League Division Series loss to the Phillies, the Braves seemed to lack an edge. This is immeasurable, and it might be a bunch of you-know-what. But the Phillies looked ready for the moment, and the Braves did not.
The guess here is the Braves will enter spring with extra motivation. They will be fueled by what happened and what was written and said about them.
And they’ll begin workouts with what might be baseball’s best roster (again).
Best rotation in baseball?
The Braves will provide us with an answer to this question over the next eight months.
They have Fried and Strider, which might be baseball’s best one-two punch. But those two don’t stand alone.
Charlie Morton is back, and Chris Sale is here.
The Braves should have a healthy competition for the rotation’s fifth spot, but their top four starters might be the top group in the sport.
But who knows?
Health plays a factor. So, too, does performance.
But for all the rotation concerns about when the Braves had at least one opening to fill this offseason, this unit looks like it has the potential to be special.
That all begins in spring training, when we’ll monitor a lot: Strider’s continued ascension, Fried’s elite talent, how Sale looks, etc.
If and when the Braves make it to October, their rotation, if healthy, should be scary for opponents.
Pleasant surprises
Braves manager Brian Snitker always says there’s at least one pleasant surprise at spring training.
Last year, Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd pitched so well that they forced their way into the competition for the fifth starter job.
There are some fun possibilities this time around.
It seems like people are forgetting about Bryce Elder because he struggled in the second half. And remember, Huascar Ynoa, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022, should be fully healthy and could make a mark.
How much has AJ Smith-Shawver grown? We’ll get a bit more intel this spring.
And what can Hurston Waldrep do? The first-round pick had a terrific debut in the minors after the Braves drafted him last summer.
Prepare to be surprised in some way.
A revamped bullpen
An early word of advice to Braves opponents: Make sure you’re not trailing after five innings.
The Braves’ bullpen should be that good this year.
(This is the part where we put the disclaimer that relievers can be volatile, and there are no certainties with a bullpen.)
The Braves signed Reynaldo Lopez. They re-signed Pierce Johnson and Joe Jiménez. They traded for Aaron Bummer. They brought in Ray Kerr.
Oh, and they still have Raisel Iglesias and A.J. Minter. And Tyler Matzek is back. Dylan Lee will be healthy.
The Braves should have more velocity and stuff in their bullpen in 2024.
New coaches
A few months ago, the Angels hired Ron Washington to be their manager. He took Eric Young Sr. with him.
And then, a couple of weeks later, the Orioles hired Drew French to be their pitching coach.
Suddenly, the Braves had three vacancies on manager Brian Snitker’s staff.
The Braves filled them with Matt Tuiasosopo (third base coach), Tom Goodwin (first base coach) and Erick Abreu (bullpen coach).
Snitker has experienced remarkable consistency on his staff. He lost a few coaches, but still has bench coach Walt Weiss, pitching coach Rick Kranitz, hitting coach Kevin Seitzer and others.
This will be a stable environment for the three new coaches. No one could replace Washington, but Snitker still should have a capable staff.
It’ll be fun to get a feel for the styles of those new coaches.
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