Positive Update on Braves Spencer Strider Includes Spring Training Action

The Atlanta Braves all-star pitcher is expected to make apperances on the mound this spring

The Braves starter is expected to take the mound in Spring Training / Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos provided a major update on starting pitcher Spencer Strider. It’s now confirmed that he will pitch in Spring Training games. 

This could change at any time, but that is the plan for now. The update comes along with the word that his teammate, Ronald Acuña Jr. won’t play in Spring Training games. 

Alex Anthopoulos said they don’t expect Ronald Acuña Jr. to play in spring games. As of now, they expect Spencer Strider to pitch in spring games — though Anthopoulos clarified it could always change.

— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) February 14, 2025

It’s been positive update after positive update for Strider since he arrived in North Port. Braves manager Brian Snitker said on Wednesday that Strider was looking good during a side session. 

"The ball's coming out really good," Brian Snitker said on MLB Network.

Strider hasn’t pitched in a live game since April 5. He suffered a UCL injury, but he did not undergo Tommy John surgery. The procedure involved an internal brace being put into his right elbow. 

MLB.com's Mark Bowman added that there is no timetable for Strider's return yet.

We do know there are no plans to have him back in the starting rotation in time for Opening Day. It can be presumed that he’s far along enough that they want to see how he does in the more controlled environment of Spring Training. However, they clearly don’t want to push him in a game that matters just yet. It’ll at least give him more time to build up ahead of his return too. 

In his last full season, Strider made 30 starts, finishing 20-5, with a 3.86 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, 113 ERA+ and 281 strikeouts in 186 2/3 innings pitched. This effort earned him his first and currently only All-Star appearance and a fourth-place finish in Cy Young voting. 

A healthy Strider is projected to be just as effective when he gets back on the mound. 

FanGraphs projects that Strider will finish the 2025 season with a 3.19 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP and 158 strikeouts in 119 innings pitched.