Prior to tonight’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Atlanta Braves provided updates on a handful of players whose impact on the big league team could start as soon as next week.
Braves manager Brian Snitker provided updates to reporters that injured Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider will be evaluated after today’s dominate start with the Gwinnett Stripers and could join the team and make his season debut next week.
Strider, who struck out 13 batters in 90 pitches at Triple-A today, would bolster a rotation that has lost Reynaldo Lopez until at least August – and possibly for the season – after undergoing a procedure on his pitching shoulder.
Acuña, Jr., who is recovering from last season’s knee surgery, is slated to head to Los Angeles next week to meet with his surgeon. If all goes well, he is expected to be cleared to begin full workouts including outfield drills and cutting. The timeline for his return is not yet known, but it has been widely assumed he could return by the end of May.
Kimbrel, who lingered on the free agent market until signing an minor league contract with the Braves at the end of Spring Training, is still working out in Florida. He is expected to work his way through the minor leagues and could join Atlanta – if he is effective – at some point in May.
The Braves continue to tinker with their bullpen after failing to sign a high-impact free agent on a major league contact during the off season. The team signed and then DFA’d Hector Neris, did the same with Jesse Chavez – who did return to the organization at Triple-A – and picked Houston Astros reliever Rafael Montero in a trade earlier this week.
An effective Kimbrel could be make-up for the loss of reliever Joe Jimenez, who will miss most of this season recovering from a knee injury.
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