The Latest Breaking News from Spencer Strider

ATLANTA — My lasting memory of the 2022 Braves: Standing in the visiting clubhouse in Philadelphia while Dansby Swanson, moisture in his eyes, declared the whole season a failure. In that moment, the 101 wins and fifth straight National League East title didn’t matter much to Swanson. They’d became irrelevant…

On opening day, every team is 0-0. Fans all around the sport have optimism. Nothing has happened yet, so anything can happen.

For outsiders like us – yes, even those who cover the sport – it can be difficult to correctly discern the talent and impact of a certain member of a front office. Tons of factors, and many that we don’t see, go into those jobs.

Hours after the Braves held a press conference to announce Michael Harris’ contract extension in August, Mike Soroka recalled the times years ago when he talked to his minor league teammates about how the Braves had to win a World Series somewhere between 2020 and 2022.

As a boy, Michael Harris would wake up and immediately grab a ball. He would start throwing it – sometimes at the wall, sometimes at his father, Michael Harris Sr. But he always had a ball from the moment he started his day.

The Atlanta outfielder helped the team overcome a large deficit to win the NL East.

PHILADELPHIA — Inside a somber clubhouse Saturday, Dansby Swanson, head hung, embraced Kenley Jansen. Michael Harris, with his head down, sat facing his locker and looked at his phone. A bit further down that row of lockers, a small group of players chatted. All around the room, coaches, players and…

Fittingly, Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins were the brightest stars when playoff baseball returned to Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA — Charlie Morton said he began preparing days ago to pitch either game 3 or 4 of the National League Division Series against Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park.