The addition of an April 2 game to their Grapefruit League schedule won’t keep the Braves from playing a previously scheduled exhibition game against their top minor leaguers that same day, a team official said.
When a Disney World public-relations official announced Wednesday that an April 2 home game against Detroit had been added to the Braves’ spring-training schedule, the date conflicted with previous schedules that listed April 2 as the Braves vs. minor leaguers game. The Braves didn’t make an announcement Wednesday regarding the schedule.
But on Thursday, a Braves official said that both games — vs. Detroit and vs. the top minor leaguers — would be played April 2. The game against the minor leaguers will be played at a minor-league affiliate to be announced later.
The Braves will break camp after their April 1 game against Tampa Bay, but some will stay in Florida an extra day to play the Tigers on April 2, in a game that was added late by the league office. Many or most of the Braves are likely to leave after the Tampa Bay game and play the next day’s game against the organization’s top minor leaguers.
The game against their “future stars” has become an annual event for the Braves, although they skipped it last year because they opened the regular season in Miami. With only one day between their Grapefruit League finale and opening day, it made sense logistically to travel to Miami directly from the team’s spring-training headquarters outside Orlando.
