Thanks to some late inning heroics from Eli White, the Atlanta Braves are heading out on the road again coming off a great 5-1 home stand and looking like a team that could make some noise in 2025 again. Since their 0-7 start, the Braves are 10-7 thanks in large part to the offense starting to finally wake up.
Still, things haven't been easy for Atlanta despite the results being better. In addition to the entirely avoidable and borderline silly Ronald Acuna Jr. drama, injuries and ineffectiveness continue to be a drag on the team. Here is the latest news in the world of the Braves that you may have missed.
Braves News: Spencer Strider's hamstring to be evaluated in a couple weeks
Spencer Strider's hamstring injury was a true gut punch. The Braves had just gotten arguably their best pitcher back from a major arm injury and a simple game of catch results in another stint on the IL. Given the state of Atlanta's rotation at the moment, that is a pretty significant problem.
Fortunately, it appears as though the Braves avoided the worst case scenario here. Strider's hamstring injury is just a Grade 1 strain which is great news. According to Strider and the Braves, the current plan is for him to be basically completely shut down for a couple weeks and then he will be re-evaluated. Assuming that goes well, returning to the mound in 3-4 weeks total isn't farfetched.
Braves News: Tim McGraw to host concert before Bristol Motor Speedway game against Reds
MLB has been working hard to extend baseball's influence and reach in recent years with games in non-traditional locales and venues. In addition to playing series in other countries like Japan and Mexico, there have also been individual games played at places like Fort Bragg (which included the Braves) and Rickwood Field. That effort is set to continue when the Braves take on the Reds in a game on August 2 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The game itself is going to be quite the destination for baseball fans and racing fans alike, but country music fans are now also going to come to Bristol because Tim McGraw will host a pregame concert as well. There will supposedly be more musical guests as well, but those details are not finalized yet and will be announced at a later date.
Braves News: Marcell Ozuna floated as a trade candidate by ESPN insider
Through all the Braves ups and downs in 2025, Marcell Ozuna's performance at the plate has been a consistent source of optimism. While his power numbers haven't been particularly crazy, Ozuna is getting on base at a truly crazy clip and he has been Atlanta's best hitter so far by a pretty wide margin.
However, Ozuna IS in the last year of his contract and that is inevitably going to lead to some questions about his future with the Braves especially if the team continues to struggle. ESPN insider David Schoenfield recently identified Ozuna as a potential trade candidate at the deadline this year. This seems unlikely given that the Braves would almost certainly like to keep Ozuna around and trading him would be a white flag, but the odds of it happening certainly are not zero especially if Atlanta is somehow out of the playoff hunt by July.