The Atlanta Braves had themselves a busy day yesterday as they had another split squad doubleheader which they ended up splitting. Lets start with the win as those are always more fun. Max Fried looked sharp yet again (he is having a nice spring so far) and the offense got contributions from throughout the lineup including strong games from Braden Shewmake, Ozzie Albies, and Michael Harris II. The result was a cruise control 9-0 win over a pretty good Puerto Rico team.
The other matchup against the Blue Jays was significantly closer and unfortunately did not go the Braves' way as Atlanta fell by the score of 3-1. Spencer Strider got the start and was good in his 3.1 innings of work as he struck out five. Unfortunately, the offense didn't do much outside of Sam Hilliard and a two-run homer off of Bryce Elder proved to be the decider.
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Kolby Allard was expected to at least compete for the fifth spot in the rotation, but his chances did always appear to be marginal given how many guys the Braves had to compete for that spot. Unfortunately, those chances, at least for now, appear to be gone in the short-term as it was reported that Allard hurt his oblique and is now going to start the season on the injured list.
MLB News
The Yankees are running out of starting pitchers in a hurry and it could cause them some real issues in at least the early portion of the 2023. Carlos Rodon secured himself a big payday from the Yankees this past offseason, but now he too will start the season on the injured list with a forearm strain. The injury is described as a mild one, but anytime a pitcher experiences that kind of soreness, it is spooky.
The Marlins added themselves a bat yesterday as they agreed to terms with Yuli Gurriel on a deal, although we still don't know what the terms of that deal are. Gurriel is a weird case because he isn't far removed from a strong offensive season with Houston in 2021, but he has been very inconsistent the past three seasons and he is turning 39 this summer.