The Atlanta Braves are making moves, trimming down the roster, and—most importantly—getting some clarity on a few big injury concerns. Opening Day is next week, and the team still needs to get everything in order. There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s dive right in.
Jurickson Profar Set to Return
Braves fans held your breath when Jurickson Profar went down with that wrist injury earlier in spring training. It’s one thing to lose a key player midseason, but seeing a major offseason acquisition get hurt in meaningless spring training games? That’s the kind of thing that keeps fans up at night.
Profar’s injury turned out to be just a bone bruise, and now we have confirmation that he’s on track for Opening Day. In fact, he’s set to return to the lineup this Thursday. Barring any setbacks, expect to see him leading off when the games actually start counting. Crisis averted.
Braves Send Back Both Rule 5 Picks
If you’re unfamiliar, this is where teams get a shot at plucking unprotected minor leaguers from other organizations—usually hoping to find a hidden gem. More often than not, though, these picks don’t stick, and that’s exactly what happened with Anderson Pilar and Christian Cairo.
Pilar, a right-hander originally from the Marlins organization, was sent back earlier this week, and now Cairo is officially heading back to the Guardians.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing—it just means these guys weren’t quite ready for the Braves’ roster. The team took a shot, but it didn’t work out, and now they move forward with the guys they do trust.
Spencer Schwellenbach is Turning Heads
With Max Fried and Charlie Morton off the team, you’d think there would be some panic about Atlanta’s starting rotation. Instead, all eyes are on Spencer Schwellenbach, and let me tell you—this kid is the real deal.
He flew under the radar a bit last year. That was partly because the league was obsessed with Paul Skenes. Also, Chris Sale was just that good. But Schwellenbach is making sure no one overlooks him in 2025.
His most recent outing was six scoreless innings. Ten strikeouts. Pure dominance. If he keeps this up, he’s going to make a serious name for himself this season.
The Braves are shaping up to be very dangerous. Profar is healthy, they’ve cleaned up the roster, and Schwellenbach looks ready to blow people away.
