Freddie Freeman discusses Craig Kimbrel, Acuña arrives at camp, lineup talk

Atlanta Braves’ pitchers and catchers got back to work on Saturday with their first full-scale workout. Several position players have arrived early to camp including All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman who talked with the media earlier on Saturday.

Freeman was asked about former teammate Craig Kimbrel and the picture of him standing in the airport in Orlando which has circulated through social media over the last couple of days. Freeman said he had spoken with Kimbrel but told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Gabe Burns that he has heard nothing in regards to where Kimbrel might be headed.

Burns also reports that the Braves are not engaged in talks with Kimbrel although he points out that it could still happen. For now though, Kimbrel isn’t in Orlando specifically to meet with Atlanta.

Ronald Acuña Jr has also arrived to camp early and was seen taking some swings in one of the batting cages. Acuña also met with the media and reiterated his preference for hitting at the top of the order although he did add that he would do whatever was asked of him.

Brian Snitker had previously stated that he was toying with the idea of dropping Acuña to the clean up spot behind Freddie Freeman and returning Ender Inciarte to the top of the batting order ahead of Josh Donaldson. The Athletic’s David O’Brien caught up with Snitker on Saturday and Snitker indicated that nothing is set in stone as far as the lineup goes and that he has several ideas.

The Braves went into the offseason hoping to find a player capable of filling that fourth spot in the batting order. They acquired Donaldson but Alex Anthopoulos previously stated that he liked Donaldson in the No. 2 spot in the order where he hit most of the time in Toronto. Nick Markakis occupied the fourth slot for the Braves in 2018 and could be an option at some point as well.

Touki Toussaint says he spent most of the offseason working on his fastball command. Toussaint has struggled in that area at times and improvement in that area would make his devastating curveball that much better.

Brian Snitker told reporters on Friday that Mike Soroka had completed six pain-free bullpen sessions and would not be limited at the start of camp. Soroka spoke with Fox Sports’ Cory McCartney and further elaborated on the status of his shoulder.