Spring training continued to roll on for the Atlanta Braves over the weekend and it was actually pretty quiet with one notable exception. The pace of Atlanta's roster cuts has slowed a bit as they seem to have the finalists set for their few roster spots and they seem to want to take a long look at all of them before making a decision.
Unfortunately, the biggest piece of news from the weekend was Jurickson Profar getting hurt. Given his reaction after hurting his wrist on a diving play, many thought that Atlanta had been bitten by the injury bug yet again. However, after a key scan brought some good news, we do seem to know where things stand with Profar now.
Braves News: Jurickson Profar expected to be healthy by Opening Day
Profar was in a lot of pain after jamming his wrist on a play in the outfield over the weekend, so there was some understandable concern after it happened. Atlanta really needs a healthy Profar especially for the first month or so of the season while Ronald Acuna Jr. is out and the prospect of having to play both Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz is one the team probably hopes to avoid.
Thankfully, it appears that the Braves' marquee offseason addition has avoided that doomsday scenario. While Profar was diagnosed with a bone bruise which is not ideal, it sounds like most people around the team believe Profar will be ready for Opening Day and that a few days rest will be enough to allow Profar to get back on the field.
Profar got good news in Atlanta and returned to Florida with the expectation to be at the top of the Braves lineup on Opening Day https://t.co/lSZZn1H8Nd
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) March 9, 2025
Braves News: Spencer Strider could pitch in spring training game soon with one caveat
Acuna Jr. isn't the only injured Braves player that fans have been eager to see back in action. Spencer Strider is currently working his way back from an internal brace procedure on his elbow with most of the estimates putting his return in late April. However, that requires Strider to have no setbacks in his recovery and the most recent word on Strider is good on that front.
After facing live hitters on the minor league backfields including his continued dominance over Acuna Jr., Strider told the media that his recovery is going great and that he is itching to get to throw in a spring training game soon. That plan could be somewhat complicated by the Braves needing to give other guys playing time to sort out some of these roster battles, but it feels likely that we could see Strider for an inning or two at least before the Braves break camp.
The Braves will be without Sean Murphy, Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. at the start of the season.
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 10, 2025
How will this affect them in 2025? #MLBTonight pic.twitter.com/MeNFgNuVup
Braves News: Baseball America ranks Atlanta the second best team in baseball on their power rankings
The number of people that seem to have forgotten that the Braves are easily one of the best teams in baseball is pretty wild. Yes, Atlanta is going to need some injured guys to bounce back in 2025, but the sheer depth of talent on this Braves' roster is staggering and more than a couple "experts" seem to have jumped off the bandwagon with some questionable logic to blame.
Don't count Baseball America among the non-believers. According to their MLB power rankings to start the 2025 season, the Braves are the second best team in baseball right behind the Dodgers which is fair (at least on paper). While BA does note that Atlanta needs some arms to step up, they had the completely sane take that the Braves just need to be healthy to be a juggernaut again.