As the Atlanta Braves start preparing for the 2025 season, they face the reality of a roster hit right from the get-go. According to Alex Anthopoulos, the Braves’ president of baseball operations, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider, two of the team’s brightest stars, won’t be ready to take the field on Opening Day.
Both players are still recovering from significant injuries, and Anthopoulos acknowledged that while their absence might not stretch too far beyond Opening Day, the Braves are heading into the season expecting to play without them for a while.
“We’re confident that Opening Day is not realistic for them,” Anthopoulos said at the General Managers Meetings, emphasizing that timelines will be clearer once spring training arrives. “Once we get to spring, you get to the beginning of February, you’ll have a much better idea on timelines.”
This marks a tough setback for a team that was just recently building momentum behind Acuña’s MVP-level performance in 2023 and Strider’s near-Cy Young caliber pitching. Acuña was riding a high before his knee injury last May.
He led the league in hits, runs, stolen bases, and on-base percentage, posting numbers that made him the clear choice for the 2023 NL MVP. And he didn’t stop there—Acuña also became the first player in AL/NL history to hit a remarkable 40 home runs and steal 70 bases in a single season. His injury, however, cut his playing time to just 49 games in 2024, and he’s still working his way back after surgery to repair his torn ACL.
On the mound, Strider was equally dominant during his last full season. Finishing fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting in 2023, Strider’s fastball and high strikeout rate led him to a stellar 20-5 record and a 3.86 ERA.
With 281 strikeouts, he topped the league, showing everyone he had the potential to be the ace of Atlanta’s pitching staff for years to come. Unfortunately, his 2024 season was nearly nonexistent—two starts in, he required right elbow surgery in April, ending his year before it could even get started.
For the Braves, Acuña and Strider’s absence to start 2025 means adjustments will be needed, both in the lineup and in the rotation. While Acuña’s speed and power in the outfield are hard to replace, Atlanta does have depth and may look to other options in the early part of the season. In the pitching department, Strider’s power arm leaves a big gap, and the Braves may have to lean on a combination of bullpen support and younger arms to fill his role temporarily.
The Braves will keep a close eye on both Acuña and Strider’s recovery in the coming months, but the team—and their fans—will have to hold out just a little longer to see their two stars back on the field. As Anthopoulos said, the start of spring will likely bring a clearer view of when they can return, but one thing is certain: the Braves’ journey to start 2025 will demand resilience and a deep bench as they await the return of two of their biggest talents.
