Despite a frustrating loss on Wednesday, the Atlanta Braves still managed to handle business at home against the Nationals by taking three of four games this week. Now, the Braves hit the road which has given them fits in 2025 to take on the Red Sox and Nationals. Thankfully, it seems like some big time reinforcements are coming back very soon.
Thursday brought the word that Spencer Strider will return against the Nationals early next week with the exact date still to be determined. Based on how his rehab stint is currently going, it seems like Ronald Acuña Jr. may not be far behind him at all.
Braves News: Ronald Acuna Jr. shows out in first rehab game at Triple-A Gwinnett
Given how bad the Braves' offense has been, fans have been eager to see Acuña Jr. return to Atlanta's lineup. It has been about a year since he last played for the Braves due to suffering his second major knee injury in his young career and it is abundantly clear that this lineup can't function properly without him.
Thankfully, we appear to be in the home stretch of Acuña Jr.'s rehab. After a single game down in rookie ball to get his feet under him and where he immediately impressed, Acuña Jr. made his Triple-A rehab debut on Thursday and promptly went 2-3 with a double. After the game, Acuña Jr. said that his knee feels good even while running the bases, but he is rusty out in the field right now. Assuming he plays regularly through the weekend, we should see him activated sometime next week with the Braves' home series against the Padres next weekend the betting favorite.
Braves News: Front office exec Jim Smith takes college athletic director job
The Braves have been able to find success both on the field and on their books thanks to having talent and continuity in their front office. However, there is just no way to keep everyone as other organizations see Atlanta do so well.
That appears to be the case with the Braves' latest departure as Jim Smith got hired to be the University of Maryland's athletic director. Smith had been serving as the Braves' senior vice president of business strategy before getting Maryland's top job. Thankfully, the executive team that makes actual roster decisions remains intact for the moment.
Braves News: Eddie Rosario lands on his feet with the Brewers
While Eddie Rosario will be fondly remembered forever for helping power the Braves to the 2021 World Series title, the good times with him have been few and far between since then. The Braves have brought him back a couple times since that postseason run with the most recent one being this season which only lasted a couple of weeks or so.
One hopes that Rosario finds success as he seems like a good dude and he did manage to find his third team of 2025 earlier this week. The Brewers signed Rosario to a minor league deal and given that their offense has been one of the worst in baseball lately, it seems like Rosario will get a shot at some point to see if he still has anything left in the tank.
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