From Profar to Nacho: A roundup of Braves news from Florida

The Braves packed a whole season’s worth of stories into the past two months.

From the moment pitchers and catchers reported to the team’s facilities in early February at CoolToday Park in North Port, Florida, until the Braves closed up shop Tuesday, there was a fountain of talking points shaping the narrative of the 2026 club.

Before the Braves open the campaign at 7:15 Friday against the Kansas City Royals at Truist Park, here’s a refresher of all that transpired in southwest Florida:

So long, Profar

Left fielder and designated hitter Jurickson Profar was one of the last players to arrive for spring training. He didn’t stay for long.

Profar was suspended by MLB on March 3 for a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug, that drug turning out to be testosterone. The suspension was for 162 games because Profar had already failed a PED test in 2025, resulting in an 80-game suspension.

Before the suspension, Profar had said he played through a sports hernia injury toward the end of the ’25 season and opted not to have surgery because “I missed a lot of time, so I wanted to play through it and just play with my teammates. I felt like I couldn’t let them down.”

Then he let them down just a few months later.

Schwellenbach, Waldrep, Jiménez and Wentz on the shelf

Pitching depth was a concern, and thus a priority, for the Braves in the offseason on the heels of a year in which nearly every player who climbed the mound in a Braves uniform suffered some sort of injury. But the makeup of the team’s pitching staff was virtually unchanged by early February.

That quickly and brutally changed in a matter of days as Spencer Schwellenbach, penciled in to be in the starting rotation, and Hurston Waldrep, a promising prospect, both underwent elbow surgeries. Then, on March 8, Joey Wentz tore his ACL running to cover first base in a game against the Rays in Port Charlotte.

The Braves had already announced Feb. 11 that reliever Joe Jiménez would be placed on the 60-day injured list with a knee injury.

Strider’s progress halted

The Braves were oh-so-close to leaving North Port without any more bad news. But then Spencer Strider felt tightness in his oblique and decided to shut it down.

Strider will start the season on the injured list, leaving a hole in the Braves’ five-man rotation. He could be out just a couple of weeks, or much longer, given the finicky nature of an oblique injury.

The 27-year-old Strider appeared ready to unleash a new version of his pitching self starting this weekend. His sharp fastball has declined in speed but remains effective, and his breaking pitches have become a greater focal point with positive results.

But seeing any of those pitches in a meaningful game will have to wait until at least April — if not longer.

The World Baseball Classic

In March, the World Baseball Classic captivated baseball fans across the country and parts of the world. The two-week tournament culminated with the United States playing Venezuela in Miami for the championship.

Braves’ right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. played in all seven games for the Venezuelan squad. He went 7-for-26, scored 10 runs, drew seven walks, stole two bases, hit a pair of homers and drove in seven runs in helping Venezuela become WBC champions.

Braves’ second baseman Ozzie Albies also had his WBC moment in the sun. On March 7 in Miami, Albies hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth for a walk-off win against Nicaragua. It was the first walk-off home run in WBC history.

Kim returns

Ha-Seong Kim re-signed with the Braves in December to remain as the team’s everyday shortstop. About one month later, he slipped on a patch of ice in Korea, tried to brace himself with his right hand during the fall and tore a tendon in his right middle finger.

Kim probably won’t be ready to play baseball again until May at the earliest. He arrived at Braves spring training March 16 after spending the majority of the new year rehabbing the injury in Atlanta.

“I’ll try my best to recover as fast as I can and help the team win games,” Kim said after finally arriving at CoolToday Park.

Fuentes is back

Of all the pitching options to make the Braves’ roster out of camp, Didier Fuentes probably didn’t have the best odds. Not for lack of talent or promise, but because the 20-year-old was coming off resting a tender shoulder in the offseason, and because his MLB debut in 2025 was less-than-impressive.

Fuentes also didn’t pitch in a Grapefruit League game until March 7 and only appeared in four games total. A scorching fastball and slicing slider from Fuentes, however, helped produce 18 strikeouts in 13.2 innings and helped the Colombian onto the Braves roster. Fuentes only allowed two singles, both coming in his final appearance Monday against the Pirates.

The Braves said they will use Fuentes out of the pen to begin the year. But he certainly could start the team’s fifth or sixth game of the season if needed.

For Sale

Chris Sale is likely to end his career with the Braves.

The Braves announced in February that Sale, who turns 37 on Monday, signed a one-year contract extension worth $27 million. The deal includes a $30 million team option for 2028.

That equates to possibly three more seasons of Sale pitching in a Braves uniform as he writes the final chapters of his Hall of Fame career. Sale has been an All-Star in each of his first two seasons with the Braves and was named the National League’s Cy Young Award winner in 2024.

Nacho the catcher

Pitchers and catchers reported to the Braves’ spring training facility Feb. 11. So why was Nacho Alvarez Jr. there?