Earlier today, we discussed the big news of the day from Walt Weiss’s press conference where he stated that Drake Baldwin would be the starting DH for Friday’s Opening Day game for the Atlanta Braves. I also mentioned that that wasn’t all he talked about, as he spoke at length about his thoughts on the team with the regular season opener less than 24 hours away.
Weiss was asked about moving Ronald Acuña Jr. to the leadoff spot and Weiss stated that Acuña leading off helps to “set the tone for our offense. It’s become part of his identity.” Weiss went on to compare Acuña to a former teammate of his: Rickey Henderson. “I played with Rickey Henderson for four-to-five years and I saw the impact he had at the top of the lineup and Ronald is like that in a lot of ways. He can take over a game and set the tone for us every night. We didn’t have to hit a homer to lead off a game but just getting on base and the havoc he creates right out of the gate, that’s what I like about having him lead off.”
I then asked Weiss about how he feels at this particular moment about his objective of improving the team’s base running going forward. Weiss responded by saying that he felt good about the offense and how he wants it to be more “multidimensional” in that regard. “Over the past several years, we’ve lived and died by the home run and we’ve been really good doing it. Last year was a little different and when you don’t hit the ball in the seats and you’re so reliant on that to score runs, it’s not very pretty. It makes you look flat. We need to be able to explore a variety of ways [to score] and the base running thing is going to be a big part of it.”
ATLANTA, GA – MAY 27: Michael Harris II #23 of the Atlanta Braves smiles at Luis García Jr. #2 of the Washington Nationals after stealing second during the seventh inning at Truist Park on May 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) Getty Images
He then went on to talk about new first base coach Antoan Richardson’s potential impact on the base running. “[Antoan] knows how important the base running aspect is to me and we all know it’s very important to him and he’s made it important to the players.” Weiss then went on to make a cross-sport reference to how important the base running is to the success of any given offense. “I look at the base running like special teams in football. It doesn’t get all the glory that the offense and defense might but a lot of times, it’ll win you games. I’m very, very, very in tune with how we run the bases. I think you’ll see a much more aggressive team on the bases this year.
Before Walt Weiss came out to talk to us in the media, Matt Olson came in to take questions and he was asked about how the base running could potentially compliment the rest of the offense. “The thought of Antoan popped into my head,” said Olson. “He’s clearly somebody who is good at what he does and he instills confidence in the guys who are baserunners to go and get opportunities when they arrive.” I thought it was a little bit humorous that Olson referred to his teammates as “the baserunners” since I can’t imagine we’ll be seeing Olson out there stealing 50 bags this season.
Still, he feels pretty confident about how the offense is looking heading into this season. “I think we look at our lineup and you gotta like it on paper, every single day you look at it,” continued Olson. “We gotta have more than one way to win games — it’s not going to be go clip five-to-six homers in a game. I feel like spring training was great when it came to moving the line. I had some homers and there were very few throw-away bats — especially early on when you haven’t seen pitching. Getting back into the swing of things is kind of tough to do but I’m excited about it.”
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 08: Matt Olson #28 of the Atlanta Braves hits a solo homer in the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Truist Park on September 08, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) Getty Images
One of the hottest topics surrounding the Braves is the lack of experienced (and healthy) starting pitching at the moment. We did get news that Grant Holmes will probably be starting on Sunday, with Reynaldo López presumably going on Saturday and of course Chris Sale getting the Opening Day nod. I asked Sale about whether or not he could use his experience of bouncing back from his fair share injuries to relate to his fellow starters who are currently dealing with injury woes.
“Absolutely,” responded Sale to my question. “In a weird way, I feel like I’m better at [giving advice for] that than the pitching side because some of the Xs and Os that stuff, I don’t really know the mechanical side…but I do know how to bring guys back away from the edge a little bit when they get hurt because I’ve been through it. I know what it can do to you. I know what it feels like physically to be hurt but I also know the mental side and how tough that can be as well.”
He continued on by stating that “As athletes, we don’t plan for that. We have to work, we have to compete, we have to produce and…you don’t ever really think about the bad stuff happening because you’re just so locked in on all the stuff you need to do. So it can be tough — especially when you’re young.” Sale expounded on that though by saying that he actually felt “lucky” to get hurt when he was older and that “I don’t know what it would be like trying to get your foot in the door and then having to deal with some of these injuries on top of that. I just try to be there for those guys like my teammates were for me and let them know that this is a process sometimes.”
ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 07: Chris Sale #51 of the Atlanta Braves walks to the bullpen before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Truist Park on April 7, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) Getty Images
Sale completed his thought on the matter by stating that “There’s going to be good days and there’s going to be bad days but every day is one step closer to the field so every day should be looked at as a good day.” If that’s the mindset that Sale had when he was bouncing back from his various ailments then it really does go a long way to showing how Sale was able to reach the level that he has here in the latter stages of his career and hopefully his fellow pitchers can be able to take some of that with them as they try to come back from their own injuries.
There was a workout following the presser and it was certainly nice to see the squad getting in one last piece of action before going back into the clubhouse and calling it a day before Opening Day tomorrow night. Hopefully everything comes together and we’ll see the Braves get off to a winning start in front of a home crowd, for once.