It may seem like the sky is falling after the Atlanta Braves dropped to 0-3 to start the season, but there is a bit of good news on the injury front. Poor batted ball luck, terrible clutch hitting, and bullpen blowups have Braves country in a frenzy. Thankfully, multiple reinforcements appear to be on their way to save Atlanta from the depths on the NL East standings.
The first injury update we have is with backstop Sean Murphy. According to Brave beat reporter Mark Bowman, Murphy caught five innings back at Atlanta’s spring training facility in North Port. He concluded that Murphy would likely begin a rehab assignment with High-A Rome on Friday. Thankfully, top prospect Drake Baldwin has looked ready for the bigs in his first series against San Diego, but Murphy’s successful return would be very much welcome for Atlanta.
Sean Murphy has caught up to five innings in Minor League games back in North Port. He’ll likely begin a rehab assignment with High-A Rome on Friday
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) March 29, 2025
Braves’ Craig Kimbrel has progressed to live batting practice
After three games the clear weak spot has been the Braves’ bullpen. There’s still plenty of time for this group of relievers to figure things out, but should a couple pitchers look rough earlly on the Braves do have at least one upside pitcher they can call on.
Veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel signed a minor league deal not long ago, and since has continued to build up his arm strength. Yesterday Justin Toscano of the AJC confirmed that Kimbrel threw live batting practice as he hopes to make his way into Atlanta’s bullpen.
Spencer Strider looked strong in last minor league rehab outing
The biggest news from yesterday came in the form of the injury update on Braves’ flamethrower Spencer Strider. After returning in time to make a couple of spring training starts, Strider made his first rehab start for Gwinnett last night.
The results were exactly what we’ve come to expect from Strider. He completed just three innings, but racked up six strikeouts during his outing. Strider did give up a couple of hits and a run, but the most important thing was that Strider continued to build up his pitch count. It’s likely that Strider will need at least a couple more rehab starts, but the Braves’ ace seems to be on track for his projected mid April return.
