Braves' offseason injury rumblings give the Phillies an early leg up in the NL East

There hasn't been any earth-shattering news from the Philadelphia Phillies so far this offseason, even with the GM Meetings this week. Everything we've heard has been the same song and dance since president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski took the stand for his end-of-season press conference in October.

There has, however, been news from one of the Phillies' division rivals. On Tuesday, we learned that the Atlanta Braves won't be at full strength to begin the 2025 regular season. According to MLB.com's Paul Casella, Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos indicated that outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and starting pitcher Spencer Strider would not be ready by Opening Day.

Injury updates on Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr., Spencer Strider give the Phillies an early leg up in the NL East

The news must come as a blow to Braves fans, who watched their team battle a ridiculous number of injuries throughout this past season. Strider, who went into 2024 as an NL Cy Young favorite, had right elbow surgery in April after making just two starts. Acuña, the 2023 NL MVP, followed with a torn ACL in his left knee in late May that required surgery.

Removing the Braves' two best players hampered the team's chances of winning its sixth consecutive NL East title. The Phillies led the division most of the season and finished six games up despite playing .500 ball in the second half. Now, the Braves will begin 2025 behind the 8-ball again.

Anthopoulos didn't provide much detail about the timeline for his injured stars, leaving room for plenty of speculation.

"With both guys, I don't think it's significant time, but I think we're confident that Opening Day is not realistic for them," Anthopoulos said, per Casella. "I think, look, once we get to spring, you get to the beginning of February, you'll have a much better idea on timelines. We're planning that they will not be part of the Opening Day roster, and how soon after that, we'll know more as we get deeper into the offseason."

Missing both players, even for a small amount of time, will give the Phillies an early edge in the division race in 2025. And with the Braves unlikely to sustain the same number of injuries again, the Phillies will gladly take any advantage afforded them in what is sure to be a tougher NL East next year.

As for the Phillies' 2025 head-to-head schedule against the Braves, they'll head to Truist Park for the two teams' first meeting early on, from April 8-10. There's a chance that neither Braves star is on the field by that time. The second series won't happen until the end of May when the Braves visit Citizens Bank Park or three games from May 27-29.

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