Atlanta, GA
3 key questions as the Atlanta Braves begin spring training
NORTH PORT, Florida — The man whose absence defined his team’s 2024 has been delightfully unavoidable so far in spring training.
Ronald Acuña Jr., the Atlanta Braves’ franchise man, a power-speed dynamo of the highest order, had his season derailed last year by a torn ACL on May 27. That injury, his second ACL tear in a four-year span on two different legs, sent him to the surgeon’s table and the Braves a’reeling. His unavailability — coupled with a seemingly never-ending cavalcade of other injuries that, most notably, included an elbow surgery to flame-throwing ace Spencer Strider — stymied Atlanta’s quest for a seventh straight NL East crown. A carousel of survivors and fill-ins admirably clawed the club into a wild-card spot, but the undermanned outfit didn’t manage to win a single playoff game.
In the Braves’ clubhouse on Friday, four days ahead of the team’s first full-squad workout, Acuña spoke for nearly 10 minutes. With an ear-to-ear smile plastered on his face, the 27-year-old addressed his recovery, his mindset, his road back and his time away. He called Atlanta’s outfield “the best outfield in baseball.” He laughed and joked, clearly overjoyed to be back in the mix. And, impressively, he did it all in English. It was, according to those regularly around the club, the longest and most engaging interview Acuña has ever given in his second language.
And he wasn’t the only notable Brave to speak on an overcast Florida morning. Alex Anthopolous, the team’s president of baseball operations, conducted his first in-person question-and-answer session of this calendar year. His eyes hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses, the elusive and secretive exec peeled back a few layers about a franchise coming off its most disappointing season since 2017.
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Here’s an overview of what Acuña and Anthopolous had to say and how their comments intersect with the biggest questions facing the Braves as they seek to dethrone the Phillies in the NL East.
When will Acuña and Strider come back?
On this, Anthopolous didn’t mince words: Neither player will be on the Opening Day roster.
Acuña, who has been taking batting practice, won’t appear in any Grapefruit League games, per Anthopoulos. His biggest hurdle remaining is full-gas cutting and planting, vital movements in the outfield. Anthopolous also shared that Acuña won’t slot in at DH whenever he’s back.
But the major takeaway is that the swashbuckling Venezuelan is on schedule and in good spirits.
“The priority is that I feel great — that’s the most important thing,” Acuña shared. “When they tell me I need to play that day, I’ll be there.”
Strider, who threw a bullpen Friday, might make an appearance or two in late March, but he isn’t expected back in the bigs until late April. He hasn’t yet faced live hitters but should do so in the coming weeks.
These two players, obviously, are absolutely crucial to the 2025 Braves. The calculus of the 2024 team was equally straightforward and, thus, unfortunate. Acuña and Strider, a top-five position player and pitcher in the world, hardly played. All-Star third baseman Austin Riley missed the last month and a half. Starting catcher Sean Murphy was hurt for the first two months. Second baseman Ozzie Albies and center fielder Michael Harris II were also out for extended stretches.
But it all starts with Acuña and Strider. That the team is slow-playing this duo in spring makes sense. Setting low expectations about their return dates represents a simpler path forward, one with less opportunity for fan disappointment. So while their paths to full health will remain a huge story this spring, it was smart for Anthopoulos to be definitive and unwavering about their timelines.
Why weren’t the Braves more active over the winter?
Atlanta’s biggest offseason addition came just a few weeks ago, with the signing of outfielder Jurickson Profar. The big-grinning Curacaoan enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2024, earning a starting nod in the All-Star Game and, now, a sturdy, three-year deal with the Braves.
But besides that, the typically active Anthopolous was notably trigger-shy. The team’s most significant offseason trade was a salary dump in November that sent Jorge Soler to Anaheim. Meanwhile, a cadre of established players departed in free agency. Longtime ace Max Fried signed a hefty deal with the Yankees. Rotation stalwart Charlie Morton is now an Oriole. Atlanta opted to not pick up an option year on clubhouse leader and veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who is now with the Angels. The only other remaining Braves who were meaningful contributors in the 2021 World Series are Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and Ian Anderson.
It’s difficult to argue that the arrivals outweigh the departures. This inactivity has elicited agitation among some Braves fans, who, understandably, want the club to take full advantage of its competitive window. But Anthopolous pushed back against the idea that his team, currently carrying the eighth-highest payroll in the game, was acting purely out of frugality.
“I think the biggest difference is we’ve spent a lot on our own players,” he said. “I think we have the most, probably, long-term contracts of the majority of teams. You start looking around the roster, not necessarily in the rotation, but we have long-term contracts all over the place. We didn’t have that many holes.
“Now we’ve lost free agents — no doubt about it. But we have some people we’re going to give opportunities to.”
Who are the temporary fill-ins for Strider and Acuña?
The most likely Opening Day outfield alignment features Profar in left, the fleet-footed Michael Harris II patrolling center and former top prospect Jarred Kelenic in right. Kelenic was underwhelming in his first year as a Brave in 2024 and figures to spend most of his time as a bench bat once Acuña returns.
With Strider on the shelf, two of the five rotation spots are up for grabs. Reigning Cy Young Chris Sale, All-Star Reynaldo Lopez and breakout rookie Spencer Schwellenbach are locks. Grant Holmes, a well-traveled vet who enjoyed a bounce-back 2024, is the favorite for the fourth spot. And Ian Anderson, who shined as a youngster with the Braves before he suffered a bout of injuries, seems primed to grab the temporary fifth spot.
It’s a group that, until Strider returns, looks a little light, but Anthopolous explained that he didn’t want to crowd the pitching situation by adding another free-agent arm.
ATLANTA – Some of the fastest runners on the planet are headed to Atlanta this weekend as Piedmont Park prepares to host the Atlanta City Games, a world-class track event featuring Olympic athletes from across the globe and right here in Georgia.
Set on a specially built 200-meter straightaway in the park’s meadows, the event will showcase top-tier track and field talent, including 2024 Olympian Anna Hall and world-class hurdler Tia Jones, a Marietta native and Walton High School alumna.
What they’re saying:
“I’m really excited,” said Hall, a silver-medal heptathlete and former University of Georgia standout. “We want to put on a great show.”
The Atlanta Track Club, which is organizing the event, says the temporary track was constructed with precision and care, using imported Italian mondo rubber and tons of steel to ensure an elite-level competition surface.
“If you were here all week you would see the tons and tons of steel and tons and tons of mondo rubber from Italy that were brought in to create this perfectly level 200-meter straightaway,” said Rich Kenah, CEO of the Atlanta Track Club and a bronze medalist at the 1997 World Championships. “The whole point of this is to bring Olympic track and field to the people.”
What we know:
The Atlanta City Games, which begin at 8 a.m. Saturday and run through 10 a.m., will also include races for up-and-coming athletes, a kids’ mile, and a high school track meet at Midtown High School.
“It’s a lot of fun every time, so I’m really excited to be back in Atlanta,” said Hall.
For Jones, the hometown event carries special meaning. “It always feels good to come back and run for my city,” she said.
Kenah echoed the significance of the event’s location. “Atlanta is an Olympic city,” he said, referencing the city’s legacy as host of the 1996 Summer Olympics.
What’s next:
The Atlanta City Games is free and open to the public.
The Source: FOX 5’s Christopher King spoke with organizers of the event for this article.
The Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics finished back-to-back in the 2024 standings, with Atlanta sneaking into the 2024 playoffs with a 15-25 record. Atlanta finished just one game ahead of Washington’s 14-26 record after Atlanta beat Washington in overtime in the 38th game of the 40-game season. Both teams underwent coaching changes in the offseason, although Washington seems set up as a more traditional rebuild while Atlanta has pushed its chips in for the 2025 season.
Opponent Preview
The Mystics are led by first-year head WNBA coach Sydney Johnson who played for the Princeton men’s basketball team in the mid-1990s. Johnson has primarily coached men’s college basketball in his career, spending time on the staff for the men’s teams at Georgetown, Princeton (head coach from 2007-2011), Fairfield (head coach from 2011-2019), and Air Force (assistant head coach). He spent the 2024 season as an assistant coach for the Chicago Sky after several years working with USA basketball.
Washington had three of the first six draft picks in the 2025 draft, adding guard Sonia Citron from Notre Dame, forward Kiki Iriafen from USC, and Australian guard Georgia Amoore from Kentucky. Although Amoore had an ACL injury in preseason, Citron and Iriafen are both expected to contribute to a lineup returning 2nd-year player Aaliyah Edwards from the University of Connecticut and veterans including Shakira Austin, Brittney Sykes, and Stefanie Dolson. Unfortunately for the Mystics, Amoore, Edwards, and Austin have all been declared out for the opening games with the Atlanta Dream.
Eight of the WNBA’s thirteen teams will make the playoffs. The Atlanta Dream has the seventh-best championship odds according to odds from DraftKings Sportsbook in early May. The Mystics had the 11th-best odds, only ahead of the chaotic Connecticut Sun and the expansion Golden State Valkyries.
What to Look For with the Atlanta Dream in 2025
There are several prominent additions to the Atlanta Dream on the player side and coaching staff. New head coach Karl Smesko enters the WNBA after 26 seasons coaching collegiately. He leaves with the thirrd-highest winning percentage among active DI women’s basketball coaches behind just Geno Auriemma and Kim Mulkey.
Smesko is known for an offense prioritizing efficient shots, emphasizing three-point shooting. Atlanta finished towards the bottom of the league in pace and three-point shooting last season, but could be among the league leaders in three-pointers taken, based on their preseason performance. Smesko brought in a collection of new coaching staff members to support him in his debut season with a wide array of professional and collegiate coaching experience.
When it comes to player additions to the Atlanta Dream, the team made some of the biggest splashes in the offseason, especially in the frontcourt. Brittney Griner opted to leave the only team she has ever played for in the Phoenix Mercury to join the Atlanta Dream as a free agent. The broadcasting crew in Atlanta’s preseason game mentioned that Griner gave credit to fellow Unrivaled players Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray for recruiting her to the team.
After announcing Griner’s signing, Atlanta surprised the WNBA by also signing free agent Brionna Jones from the Connecticut Sun. The two players were considered the best available bigs on the free-agent market and it remains to be seen how their playing time will be staggered. In both preseason games, both ‘BG’ and ‘BJ’ were in the starting lineup, but they could be used in a rotation to give Atlanta a reliable threat in the paint.
In the backcourt, Atlanta added Shatori Walker-Kimbrough from the Washington Mystics. Walker-Kimbrough started Atlanta’s second preseason game after starting point guard Jordin Canada’s injury in the first minute of preseason action. Atlanta also utilized rookie Te-Hina Paopao at the guard position throughout the preseason. Paopao surprisingly fell to Atlanta at the 18th pick in the second round of the WNBA draft and may fit well into Smesko’s offense with the outside shooting she developed and demonstrated while playing for Dawn Staley at South Carolina.
Returning players for Atlanta include All-Stars Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, and Jordin Canada. Naz Hillmon and Nia Coffey are expected to be heavily involved in Atlanta’s rotation. We will see how quickly the new Dream players Griner, Jones, Walker-Kimbrough, and Paopao can gel alongside the strong community of these five returning players.
11-year-old shot in head remains critical
A 11-year-old named Messiah Heard is still critical after being shot in the head Tuesday night. Police have not given details about how the young boy was injured. FOX 5 Atlanta spoke to people at the boy’s school on Thursday.
ATLANTA – An Atlanta elementary school student remains in critical condition after being shot in the head earlier this week.
What we know:
The victim has been identified as 11-year-old Messiah Heard, a fourth-grader at KIPP WAYS Academy, who is described by educators and classmates as a bright, joyful child who brought energy and love to every room he entered.
ORIGINAL STORY: 11-year-old boy critically injured in shooting at Atlanta apartment complex
The shooting occurred Tuesday evening at the Square at Peoplestown Apartments on Hank Aaron Drive.
According to Atlanta Police, Messiah was shot inside his home around 6 p.m. but have not released details about how the shooting happened or whether a suspect has been identified.
Messiah is currently hospitalized at the Arthur M. Blank Children’s Hospital in Atlanta.
What they’re saying:
School officials say his mother and grandmother are at his bedside, along with the school’s principal, who is providing support to the family during this crisis.
“He was so vibrant and energetic, charismatic and just so loving. The whole school loved him. He was an amazing kid,” said Dr. Travis Barber, a mentor at KIPP WAYS Academy through the One Mo Question Men’s Leadership Program.
The tragedy comes just weeks after the school community mourned the death of another fourth grader, A’Erica Dixon, who was killed when a tree fell on her home during a recent storm.
Tree falls on Atlanta home, kills 10-year-old girl in the middle of the night
What’s next:
KIPP WAYS has brought in grief counselors and therapists to support students, staff, and families as they cope with the emotional toll of the recent tragedies. Friends and loved ones of Messiah are holding out hope for a miracle and continue to pray for his recovery.
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