Welcome to The North Port Report, your nightly notebook from Braves spring training. Each evening, we’ll run through the biggest developments from camp: roster battles, injury updates, standout performances, and the small details that matter more than they seem in February. The games may not count yet, but the information does.

Live BP for several members of Atlanta’s rotation, including Reynaldo López. Per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, López was very heavy with his breaking ball usage, which is fine. Several folks on the internet expressed concern about his fastball velocity, however, with Bowman reporting he was sitting in the low-90s for the session. For many who were already frustrated/concerned about Atlanta’s rotation in the wake of Spencer Schwellenbach’s injury, this is just another data point that confirms their priors.

It’s important to remember two factors, though: The first is that it’s still mid-February and this is his first time facing live hitters. Spring training ostensibly is for ramping up for the season, although many pitchers never quite stop throwing all winter and come to spring close to ready for the season. I sat in the CoolToday Park press box for two of his 2024 spring training starts where he was still throwing low-90s all game and then he was fine in the regular season.

The second is that he’s even more variable with his velocity than most. In 2024, he averaged just under 95 with nobody on, ramping it up to 96.2 with runners on base and even more with runners on and two outs.

Considering that he’s reportedly pain free for the first time in years after his shoulder surgery, I’m not very concerned about early spring radar gun readings.

Speaking of live BP, Grant Holmes was reportedly touching 95 in his bullpen, while Bryce Elder and Joey Wentz were both throwing 93-94. From what I was told, Elder went offspeed-heavy in the pen, looking to improve a changeup that he seldomly used last year because it got mostly poor results.

Mauricio Dubón is ready for the challenge of paying shortstop on Opening Day. Doing it for Atlanta means even more, as he grew up a Braves fan in Honduras thanks to Braves on TBS. He admitted it was “emotional,” in a good way, getting traded to Atlanta.

Griffin Canning, one-time Braves starter who pitched for Jeremy Hefner last year in New York, signed a one-year deal with the Padres on Saturday morning. He was on my list of injured starters to look at as a “sign-and-stash,” similar to Jordan Montgomery (who returned to Texas).

Garrett Baumann. While he’s not going to make the Opening Day roster, he’s improved his chances of getting called up earlier than I originally predicted last month. More on him in a moment.

Nobody as of now.

Garrett Baumann met with the media and explained that he spent most of the offseason working on a splitter. The 6’8 prospect was throwing in the high-90s in his live bullpen on Friday and if he has added a usable splitter to his existing arsenal, the sky’s the limit. While he currently has both a curveball and a slider, neither pitch is very good at getting whiffs, so a splitter that can draw chase is a big deal.

He’s expected to start the 2026 season in Double-A, which for the Braves, puts you as a potential mid-season call up if Atlanta needs a starter and there’s an available 40-man spot.

It’s the first squad workout for the team, so the remaining position players are due in camp by the end of the day today. Jurickson Profar’s the most notable absence, which is surprising, as most WBC participants reported to their respective teams early this spring.