Braves’ Austin Riley: Hand is ‘feeling good, ready to go’

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley is one of Major League Baseball’s best when healthy.

Riley, who averaged 36 home runs and 99 RBIs per season until the 2024 campaign, had somewhat of a down year. The 27-year-old slashed .256/.322/461 with 19 home runs and 56 RBIs before suffering a fractured right hand, which forced him to miss the last month of the regular season as well as the postseason.

Fast forward to Thursday at CoolToday Park in North Port, Florida, and the third baseman is looking like his old self on the diamond. He’s as healthy as ever as the team enters the 2025 campaign.

“It’s feeling good. I’m ready to go‚” Riley said. “I haven’t suffered any setbacks. Slowly started hitting back in December and started building up. The biggest thing was getting (his hand) healed up, getting strength back, range of motion … I’m excited.”

The 27-year-old slashed .256/.322/461 with 19 home runs and 56 RBIs in 2024 before suffering a fractured right hand.

Injuries seemed to be the theme for the Braves in 2024. Stars Ronald Acuña Jr. (knee) and pitcher Spencer Strider (elbow) suffered season-ending injuries early on, while catcher Sean Murphy suffered an oblique strain that nearly kept him out until June and lineup mainstays Michael Harris Jr. (hamstring) and Ozzie Albies (wrist fracture) missed time due to their respective injuries.

The Braves were simply decimated all throughout the 2024 campaign.

“2024 was a weird year,” Riley said. “A lot of guys would say it was an uphill battle the whole year. But that’s part of it, nobody felt sorry for us, and we gave ourselves a chance and made the playoffs.”

But the team enters 2025 healthy, for the most part. Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Acuña was likely to miss Opening Day and maybe the first month of the season. Strider is expected to pitch in some spring training games, but the team doesn’t want to rush him. Like Acuña, Strider isn’t expected to be ready by Opening Day. Other than that, the roster is clear of injuries. For now.

In 2024, the team’s motto was “World Series or bust.” In 2025, it’s simple: “Stay healthy.”

“I don’t think there’s any statement to be made,” Riley said. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to get through 162 (games) healthy and if we can do that, I like our chances.”