The Atlanta Braves are expected to compete in the National League East next season but they’ll have to begin the year without two of their biggest stars – Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider.
Neither player will begin the year with the Braves as Acuña rehabs from a torn ACL and Strider recovers from Tommy John surgery. The good news is that both stars have resumed baseball activities and should be able to return early in the 2025 season. But while both players are working hard, Strider took a moment to take a shot at his teammate as they look to round into their All-Star form.
Spencer Strider Dominates Ronald Acuña Jr. During Batting Practice
The story came from MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, who noted that Strider threw two simulated innings at Spring Training camp on Friday. The session included at-bats against Ozzie Albies and Acuña and Strider looked dominant, showing the stuff that has made him one of the best starting pitchers in baseball.
Perhaps Strider’s stuff looked a little too good, however, as he noted his performance against Acuña in batting practice.
“Ronald’s still dealing with his own rehab process,” Strider said. “Certainly, I think I’d still own him and I have. There’s history behind that, even when he is healthy. I don’t know what’s behind it, but I know it starts with an 0-for.”
Bowman noted that Acuña is “like 0-for-6” against Strider in batting practice but that success is a great sign for his availability for next season. The right-hander led MLB with 483 strikeouts, from the start of the 2022 season through the end of the 2023 campaign and his return will boost a rotation that includes Chris Sale, Reynaldo López and Spencer Schwellenbach.
Strider has made a goal of pitching in a Grapefruit League game if innings are available, but if that doesn’t happen, he’s been satisfied with his recovery which had an initial timetable of 9-12 months.
“I think it’s gone super well,” Strider said. “In hindsight, there’s always going to be things we could have done differently, places where we should have slowed down and places where we should have sped up. But I think it’s been a really seamless process so far. …Getting closer to hopefully getting into a game. I’m certainly looking forward to that and just having what feels like an increase in intensity when I actually start pitching.”
As for Acuña, he looks like he’ll be just fine. The 2023 National League Most Valuable Player was off to a slow start, hitting .250/.351/.365 with four homers, 15 RBI and 16 stolen bases on 19 attempts before injuring his knee last May.
The good news is that Braves fans won’t have to worry about Acuña’s record against Strider as they’ll be on the same team. When they return to the field, Atlanta will be a better team that will look to get back to the top of the National League East in 2025.