NORTH PORT, Fla. — Atlanta Braves leadoff hitter and right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. took batting practice at spring training Thursday. Right-handed pitcher Spencer Strider has already thrown a side session this week at the team’s camp.
While neither Acuña, the unanimous choice for National League MVP in 2023, nor Strider, a 20-game winner on the mound that season, are expected to be ready for Atlanta’s regular-season opener next month while recovering from injuries, Braves manager Brian Snitker said both are making good progress.
“We’re going to make two really big trades at some point in time early in the season and get, you know, an All-Star and a potential Cy Young Award winner back,” Snitker told MLB Network, using “trades” to describe the impact of bringing two young, talented players back to the roster.
Snitker said both players are on their own programs “because they are still in rehab.”
Acuña tore the ACL in his left knee while running the bases in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 26, and the 27-year-old slugger had surgery on June 6. The 26-year-old Strider had internal brace surgery last April to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, having made just two starts in the 2024 regular season.
Along with taking batting practice on the field with teammates, Acuña has run sprints multiple times in the outfield already at camp.
“Ronald’s doing everything. You know, he hasn’t done a lot of the cutting and things like that,” Snitker said. “But, you know, I’ve seen him in Atlanta before I came down. And as you’re seeing right now, I mean, he’s doing great. I mean, he’s checking all the boxes. He looks great.”
Strider threw a side session Wednesday, the first official day of workout for Braves pitchers and catchers. He was 20-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 32 starts in 2023, when he led the majors with 281 strikeouts.
“The ball’s coming out really good,” Snitker told MLB Network.
Acuña hit .337 with 41 homers, 106 RBIs and 73 stolen bases in 2023, when he became the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit 40 homers and steal 70 bases in a single season, helping Atlanta win its sixth NL East Division title in a row.
He played only 49 games last season before sustaining a complete ACL tear. He had a double in the first inning of that game in Pittsburgh, and his knee gave way when he stopped on a stolen base attempt to return to second base.
Acuña tore his right ACL during a game against the Miami Marlins while playing the field on July 20, 2021, had surgery and returned the following April.