The Braves held their first full-squad workout Tuesday in North Port, Florida. And manager Brian Snitker gave his first team address.
“We had to adjust,” Snitker said. “I told the guys it’s a shame we have that big, beautiful auditorium in there and we’re not able to use it. So we spread them out in the seating bowl, used the PA and made it work. It worked really well.”
Snitker shared part of his message to the club.
“We’re down here for a reason,” he said. “We’re a really good club. We’re a good fundamental team. It starts right here. We have to get back to work and don’t take anything for granted. I don’t have to worry about this group working hard. I don’t have to worry about their passion or energy. These guys love to play, love to work and they’re a very competitive group.”
Snitker and his team missed two iconic individuals who normally were present: Former owner Bill Bartholomay and Hall of Famer Hank Aaron. Bartholomay died in March 2020, while Aaron died in January. Both were honored in videos about their life, catcher Travis d’Arnaud said.
“It’s tough to know what this organization and city is going through with those big losses,” d’Arnaud said. “To honor them was very special. It’s humbling, too, to know that everybody cares about them and the great things they did for the city, giving back to the city all the time. It was motivational, for sure.”
The Braves begin Grapefruit League play Sunday against the Rays. They’ll play 29 games over a 31-day span before opening the season April 1 in Philadelphia.
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Notes from Tuesday:
- All is good on the Mike Soroka front so far, Snitker said. The right-hander, returning from a torn Achilles, is on his regular side-session schedule and “doing fine,” Snitker said. The Braves and Soroka will have a better idea whether he’ll be ready for opening day in the coming weeks.
- D’Arnaud said he enjoyed playing so much down the stretch last season. It was a heavy workload for the veteran, who started all of the Braves’ 12 postseason games.
“It reminds me of a time when I was younger, I think (I caught) 17 or 18 in a row because we (the Mets) were in the playoff hunt,” he said. “Skip wanted me to go every day until we were out of it and I just kept going and going. It reminded me of those days.”
- The Braves signed outfielder Travis Snider to a minor-league deal. Snider, 33, hasn’t played in the majors since 2015. He was in the Blue Jays organization when current Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos was leading Toronto’s front office.
- Some haven’t pegged the Braves as National League East favorites, but don’t count the oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag among that group. They set the Braves’ over/under at 92-1/2 wins, the fourth-highest total in the majors (trailing the Dodgers, Yankees and Padres). The site put the Mets at 89-1/2 wins, the Nationals at 84-1/2, the Phillies at 81-1/2 and the Marlins at 72-1/2.
