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Talking Chop

https://www.talkingchop.com/ | 701 entries published

Your one stop shop for everything Atlanta Braves

Latest Entries

Braves have strong split-squad outing, as Austin Riley homers

We were treated to a split-squad day on Sunday, with Reynaldo Lopez starting at home against the Rays, backed by most of the regular bats remaining in camp after a few WBC departures and Grant Holmes starting on the road at the Twins’ facility, backed by mostly quad-A players and a few prospects. At home, […]

about 6 hours ago | 0 reads

Atlanta Braves 2026 Opening Day roster projection, March 1 edition

Well, folks, it is March. That means regular season games happen later this month and we will hopefully have meaningful games for the seven months that follow. But, there are still almost four weeks of Spring Training games left, which means there is still time for the Atlanta Braves 2026 Opening Day roster to evolve. […]

MLB

about 10 hours ago | 0 reads

Braves Split Squad Game Thread: 3/1/2026

The Braves have their first split squad matchup of Spring today, as Reynaldo Lopez and most of the regulars on offense face Drew Rasumussen and the Rays at CoolToday Park and Grant Holmes leads a team of mostly veteran quad-A players plus John Gil at DH against Mick Abel and the Twins. You can see […]

about 11 hours ago | 0 reads

Nacho Alvarez, Jr., Hunter Stratton optioned, Chadwick Tromp, Javy Guerra reassigned

This morning, Atlanta Braves formally announce that infielder Nacho Alvarez, Jr. and reliever Hunter Stratton have been optioned to Triple-A and that non-roster invitees catcher Chadwick Tromp and reliever Javy Guerra have been reassigned to the minor league camp. Alvarez, Jr.’s option appeared on the team’s transaction page yesterday. For Alvarez, Jr., Tromp and Guerra, […]

about 11 hours ago | 0 reads

Who is next to be cut by the Braves?

The Braves have 65 players in camp right now. Yesterday Nacho Alvarez has already left for the World Baseball Classic. So that’s effectively your first cut. The Braves have a pair of split-squad games today and an off day Tuesday. So they will play a ton of players today, and typically off days are when […]

about 13 hours ago | 0 reads

Braves News: Spencer Strider has an interesting start, John Gil shines, more

Spencer Strider looked pretty good on Saturday, even if he didn’t necessarily look like the Spencer Strider that we have been used to. His pitches looked good in terms of shape and he threw them for strikes. His velocity was sitting lower-90s though, so it will be worth monitoring whether that is a new normal […]

about 22 hours ago | 1 read

Spring Training February 28 game thread: Braves at Orioles

It’s another road game but this time, the lineup for our Atlanta Braves figures to be a little better than the last one that they sent out for a road game against the Yankees in Tampa. That’s probably because it’s a quicker trip from North Port to Sarasota instead of Tampa but either way, this’ll […]

MLB

1 day ago | 0 reads

How happy are you for ABS?

We’re had a week with the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System. I think we’ve been waiting for this for at least five years. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that you like it. The only question here is how happy are you to have ABS? I’ve gotta say that I’m really […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

Atlanta Braves 2026 Spring Training Schedule

While the TV situation for the Atlanta Braves is currently in flux heading into the 2026 season, there are still games to be played and we at least know that 15 of them will be televised by your local Gray TV affiliate. We’ll keep this updated as more information comes out but for now, here’s […]

MLB

2 days ago | 0 reads

Spring Training February 27 game thread: Braves vs Red Sox

Another day, another Spring Training game day for baseball fans. After dropping a game yesterday’s performance to the Yankees with Carlos Carrasco on the mound, the Braves are set to face the Red Sox with a more competitive squad showing up, with Ronald Acuña Jr. batting leadoff, and a newly girded ace, Chris Sale, ready to […]

2 days ago | 1 read

Who will hit ninth for the Braves most often in 2026?

A quick one, off a stray thought. When the Braves ran out their lineup of regulars-ish a couple of days ago in a home Spring Training contest, Mauricio Dubon was hitting ninth, even behind Jonah Heim. Two days before that, Dubon was hitting ninth behind Aaron Schunk, of all people. It’s early in Spring Training, […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Braves News: Tough one in Tampa, World Baseball Classic, and more

The Atlanta Braves went to Tampa on Thursday and returned with a 7-3 loss to the New York Yankees. Carlos Carrasco got the ball and lasted just 1.2 innings. Though his outing was short, he surrendered four hits and five runs. He struck out one and surrendered a base on balls. Offensively, the Braves recorded […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Carlos Carrasco, Braves backups get beaten up by Yankees

The Braves didn’t really intend to make Thursday afternoon’s exhibition contest in Tampa a competitive one — they sent a bunch of backups as their position player contingent, gave Carlos Carrasco the start, and had a pitching slate of “guys who complete innings because the regular crew can’t add a full month of workload to […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Spring Training February 26 game thread: Braves at Yankees

It’s Spring Training Game Thread time again. Double wooooo. It’s kind of weird that Carlos Carrasco is “starting” again, but I guess we’ve had enough games now, and every other actual rotation-member other than Spencer Strider has made their 2026 Grapefruit League debut. The Braves are clearly not sending any of their regulars on the […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Braves News: Austin Riley goes yard, bullpen competition heats up, more

Despite the woes for rotation depth early this offseason, there is quietly a lot of competition for the back of the bullpen. Tyler Kinley, Dylan Lee, Dylan Dodd, Hayden Harris, and James Karinchak all had strong outings out of the bullpen Wednesday, with Harris and Karinchak looking especially impressive. The Braves have four bullpen locks […]

4 days ago | 2 reads

Bryce Elder solid, Austin Riley homers in spring win over Pirates

The Braves and Pirates tangled in Grapefruit League action on Wednesday afternoon, and the Braves came away victorious by a 3-1 score, taking advantage of rusty-ish Paul Skenes in the process. Let’s get the key performances out of the way first. Bryce Elder was, well, Bryce Elder. Especially the kind of Bryce Elder he appears […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

Spring Training February 25 game thread: Braves vs. Pirates

It’s Spring Training Game Thread time. Wooooo. It’s the very “fun” matchup of Paul Skenes and Bryce Elder, but really, it’s an early Grapefruit League tuneup for both arms. This game is one of the Spring Training games broadcast on Gray TV, and should be available via MLB.tv as well, regardless of where you are. […]

4 days ago | 1 read

How much will Braves.TV cost?

A completely pointless exercise, as we’ll find out soon enough, but I’m curious what you all think. Current MLB.tv-based single-team packages are about $20 per month. This includes things branded exactly the same as Braves.TV, like “Padres.TV” and “Giants.TV.” Braves.TV might offer more than the games, though I’m not sure it’s going to have an […]

5 days ago | 0 reads

Braves News: Chris Sale extension, BravesVision launch, and more

Tuesday marked a busy day for the Atlanta Braves, who kicked things off early this morning by extending starting pitcher Chris Sale. The extension will run through the 2027 season, where his salary will jump up to $27M. The deal also includes a $30M club option for 2028. The nine-time All-Star had a productive 2025 […]

5 days ago | 0 reads