The North Port Report: Braves Road Squad Gets Embarrassed In Dunedin Against Blue Jays

Here's everything you need to know from Braves Spring Training in North Port, FL from Tuesday

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 early March. The games may not count yet, but the information does.

Here’s what stood out today

Atlanta was easily toppled by the Blue Jays 7-0 as the Braves’ offense failed to get anything going on the road.

With a backup-heavy lineup, Atlanta finished the contest with just six hits, five of them being singles, and only one walk to six strikeouts. Their best opportunity to score came after a two-out triple by Josè Azocar, but Sandy León popped up on a down-and-in slider to get Toronto out of it. On the day, the Braves finished a pitiful 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

On the pitching side, JR Ritchie got three groundball outs in his first inning but struggled a bit with some long at-bats and some control issues in the subsequent frames. Ritchie was eventually charged with two runs on one hit, four walks, and a hit batter, but managed to limit the Blue Jays from even more by some well-timed ground ball outs. Frustratingly, he got only five whiffs on 26 Toronto swings, but five additional groundball outs and two punchies minimized the damage. I was a bit impressed by the curveball from a movement perspective, but it didn’t get a whiff on the only swing he induced on it and none of the seven thrown ended up in the strike zone.

José Suarez was not nearly as lucky, with the veteran lefty being tagged for five runs on five hits (including two homers) and two walks in just under three innings. The very first pitch he threw on the day, to backup first baseman Riley Trotta, was launched to the centerfield seats for a homer, and ultimately, four of the five runs he allowed came in via the home run. For a Braves team looking for someone to step up into Joey Wentz’s vacant swingman spot, today’s outings can’t be characterized as encouraging.

Quick Hits

• Former Braves starter Julio Teheran, who once made six consecutive Opening Day starts from 2014-2019, announced his retirement from baseball yesterday at the age of 35. Last pitching in the majors in 2024, he was scheduled to represent his native Colombia in the WBC but was scratched from his expected Saturday start against Canada and former Braves starter Michael Soroka due to a shoulder issue.

  • “Having the ball in all of the Opening Days was very special,” Teheran said in a press conference on Monday. “It was my biggest challenge year after year. It’s what kept me with that hunger year after year. I wanted to be the number one representative, especially of the organization of the Atlanta Braves.”

• FanGraphs dropped their Top 33 prospect listing for the Braves and I’m choosing to be personally offended that Cody Miller wasn’t on the list at all. However, both JR Ritchie and Didier Fuentes have been upgraded to a Future Value of a 50, which lines up with MLB regulars who can hold a middle to back-end rotation spot. Other noteworthy inclusions are Like Sinnard at #7, a trio of young outfielders in the top 15 in Diego Tornes (#8), Owen Carey (#12), and Conor Essenburg (#13), and IFA shortstop Edelson Cabral surprisingly high at #14.

• Reliever Ian Hamilton has started throwing again after being shut down earlier in camp, but may not have time to be ready for Opening Day, necessitating an injured list placement to start the season.

• The Braves are sending Spencer Strider to the CoolToday Park mound opposite Nick Martinez of the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. Let’s hope bunt enthusiast Taylor Walls doesn’t make the road trip from Port Charlotte.

Roster Battle Tracker

Stock UP

José Azocar, and it’s not because he hit a triple today. The book on him entering this season had always been an inability to make quality contact, with the speedy centerfielder having two career homers in 418 MLB plate appearances…but he’s seemingly discovered his power swing in spring training, putting up an average exit velocity of 90.9 mph in spring and tallying nine hard-hit balls so far, including two today. Given his exceptional speed and ability to play all three outfield positions, he’s slowly climbing the pecking order for a potential depth outfield role if injuries were to strike.

Stock DOWN

Luke Williams. Yes, he’s well-liked in the clubhouse, but from a baseball perspective, he’s struggling to differentiate himself from the pack of utility player candidates. He went 0-3 with two strikeouts while manning shortstop today and is increasingly looking like he won’t be winning the final bench job simply because he’s getting outplayed by multiple other NRIs.

Observation of the Day

Is it too late to sign Patrick Corbin to a minor league deal for 2026?

Tomorrow’s watch list

Still on the “yet to pitch in spring” list is Daysbel Hernández; is tomorrow the day when Atlanta gets him some work behind Spencer Strider at home?