Braves closing in on roster completion, but some questions still remain

NORTH PORT, Fla. — The Braves are just a few days away from setting their 26-man roster for opening day.

The organization has until noon Wednesday to cement the names of players who will be in the clubhouse for Friday night’s opener at 7:15 against the Royals at Truist Park. Over the past six-plus weeks, that list of possible names has been trimmed down to a little more than 30, with just a few roster spots left up for grabs.

The Braves have three Grapefruit League games remaining, including a Sunday matinee against the Twins in Fort Myers, Florida, and the players who are on the field for the remaining trio of contests will mostly be the same ones with the big-league club next weekend against Kansas City.

Conversations with the remaining players in camp about where they stand are ongoing. Trades, free-agent signings, players being out of options and other players being designated for assignment will also shape how the roster ultimately looks.

The Braves pitching staff has become a clearer picture along the way as well, even after spring training started with the losses of Spencer Schwellenbach, a starter in 2024 and ’25, and prospect Hurston Waldrep to elbow injuries, and with Joe Jiménez being placed on the 60-day injured list because of an articular cartilage injury. Joey Wentz then tore the ACL in his right knee March 8 and was deemed out for the season.

In the meantime, Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Grant Holmes, Reynaldo López and Bryce Elder have been working in the Grapefruit League to solidify themselves as part of the five-man rotation, with budding star Didier Fuentes making the squad and veteran José Suarez another possibility as a sixth starter or a long-relief option out of the bullpen (the Braves begin the season with 13 games in 13 days).

Fuentes made the roster, and it’s almost a foregone conclusion that fellow prospect JR Ritchie will at some point soon.

“Our prospects, like Didier Fuentes and JR Ritchie, looked good this spring. They threw the ball well. Their talent speaks for itself,” Braves president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Fuentes, he touched the major leagues last year, and JR Ritchie’s someone we took in the first round; he came with expectations when he was drafted. They both look really good.

“Then we have a group of young arms that we’re excited about down the road, as well. That’ll be more (at Double-A) Columbus, and we’ll see how they progress during the year.”

The other major storyline coming out of Braves camp was the suspension of Jurickson Profar.

Profar was suspended 80 games in 2025 for failing a drug test for performance-enhancing drugs, but the Braves were cautiously optimistic he could give them a full season in ’26 and perform at the All-Star level that he did in 2024.

Instead, Profar failed another drug test, resulting in a 162-game ban and leaving the Braves with a hole in left field and in the designated hitter spot. Since the announcement of Profar’s suspension in early March, the Braves have not made any moves to add to their outfield or DH depth, save for the signing of Rowdy Tellez to a minor-league contract.