When I say that Yaz made his presence felt immediately, I mean it - he hit second for the Braves in this one and he took the first pitch he saw from Rays pitcher T.J. Nichols and crushed it deep to center field to put the Braves ahead early on in this one. Nichols left one right in Yaz's wheelhouse and he made no mistake with it in order to crack his first homer (of spring training) with the Braves.
That Atlanta Braves have taken another blow to their potential starting rotation with news this afternoon that starting pitcher Hurston Waldrep had an MRI after experiencing discomfort in his elbow while throwing batting practice. The MRI showed "loose bodies" but no ligament damage. Braves manager Walt Weiss met with the media and gave some additional details on Waldrep's status. Weiss said Waldrep will be meeting with doctors on Monday. The assumption is that some type of procedure will be needed.
Jonah Heim was a free agent in the first place after he got non-tendered by the Texas Rangers following two underwhelming seasons. He hit .213/.271/.332 with a .266 wOBA and 69 wRC+ last season, which would be an acceptable amount of production for a catcher if their defense was good. Unfortunately for Heim, his defense was not good in 2025 as he graded below average in plenty of defensive catching metrics in 2025.
Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuńa, Jr. made a surprise appearance during Bad Bunny's Halftime show during NFL's Super Bowl on Sunday night. After the performance, MTV's social media posted a photo showing actor Pedro Pascal, but standing to his left was a familiar face to Braves fans. None other than La Bestia! It's a fun pop-culture cross-over for Atlanta's star outfielder.
The rosters for the 2026 edition of the World Baseball Classic have been revealed and as it turns out, Ronald Acuña Jr. won't be the only Atlanta Braves representative at the WBC. In fact, Acuña won't have to wait too long to see a few of his teammates turn into opponents during Pool D action in Miami, Florida. The Netherlands will have three Braves players on their squad for the WBC.
Sigh, this is a depressing one of these to do. Everything about Spencer Strider was, in theory, so awesome, that it didn't seem like a little thing like a year-long layoff due to elbow troubles was going to derail his career. Surely someone so diligent in being in tune with his body and mechanics could hit the ground running, right? Well, not exactly. After an uneven 2025, Strider's outlook is uncertain, and pretty fraught.
