Acuna and Strider will likely not return before Opening Day. However, both players are only expected to miss one to two months of the regular season. This means that any player the Braves sign to replace Acuna or Strider may have a diminished role once they return, something Ken Rosenthal addressed in reference to Acuna’s situation, via The Athletic.
“A return by Acuña say, at the end of April, would give him six additional weeks to recover,” Rosenthal wrote in a recent article. “The Braves clearly would need another outfielder in the interim, but that player likely would be reduced to a backup role once Acuña was activated. Few players at this stage of the offseason are jumping at such roles.”
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Acuna and Strider are looking to bounce back from injuries. Acuna is one of the best players in the sport when healthy, but a torn ACL brought his 2024 season to an early end. The same can be said for Strider, who suffered an early season elbow injury.
The Braves will rely on Strider in the starting rotation once he returns after losing Max Fried in free agency. Of course, Acuna will instantly become the leader in the lineup once he returns as well. In a sense, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider’s returns will feel like two superstar acquisitions.
Will the Braves make any notable additions as the offseason continues? Anything is possible, but Atlanta may be content to enter the 2025 campaign with their roster as currently constructed.
Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University, and he has bylines at NBA Analysis Network and RotoWire.
