NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Whether talking to a grizzled veteran like Travis d'Arnaud or a young star like Michael Harris II, it was easy to feel excitement and anticipation throughout the Braves clubhouse on Wednesday.

“In like mid-January, I always get those jitters and that excitement, nerves and butterflies,” Braves veteran reliever Collin McHugh said. “It’s like, ‘This is another season. You’ve got another season around the corner.’”

Ultimately, the Braves want to hoist a World Series trophy again, like they did in 2021. They would also like to win a sixth consecutive National League East title. But to adequately prepare for what could be an eight-month journey, they will first enjoy Spring Training, a six-week stretch filled with fun, sun and optimism.

Spring Training began for the Braves on Wednesday, when pitchers and catchers officially reported. But even though the first full-squad workout won’t occur until Tuesday, most of the gang is already here. Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Matt Olson and Harris are among the position players who have made early arrivals.

“You still get the itch [to get to Spring Training],” d’Arnaud said. “What I’ve noticed is it just comes later and later every year. After my first season, it was like the day the season ended I felt like I was ready for Spring [Training]. Now, it’s like, ‘Let me catch my breath a little bit.’ It’s good to see people you haven’t seen in a while and, just catching up with everyone.”

As d’Arnaud prepares for his fourth season with the Braves, he finds himself as the leader of a clubhouse that has lost Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson over the past two winters. The veteran catcher has shown his leadership skills since arriving in 2020, and he will continue to be somebody who many of his teammates know they can count on to provide direction.

This includes d’Arnaud’s new teammate Sean Murphy, who the Braves acquired from the A’s in December. Murphy and d’Arnaud both rank among MLB Network’s Top 10 catchers, and together they should form the game’s best catching duo. They will spend a lot of time together over the next few weeks, as their lockers are located next to each other in CoolToday Park’s home clubhouse.

Along with sharing time behind the plate, Murphy and d’Arnaud could also both get plate appearances as the designated hitter.

“I want to play as much as possible, but part of this is about winning, and we're in a good spot to win,” Murphy said. “Whatever split me and Travis have, I'll be fine with. We're here to win games. Having an All-Star around like Travis will be great. He knows this [pitching] staff as well as anybody.”

One Braves player Murphy is very familiar with is Harris. The Atlanta center fielder was just a few weeks into his big league career on June 7, when he made a catch that drew an impressed response from 10-time Gold Glove Award winner Andruw Jones, who was in attendance for the game against the A’s at Truist Park. Murphy was the one robbed of what could have been an extra-base hit.

Harris had already been in big league camp both of the past two seasons, but he arrived this year as an established big leaguer and the reigning National League Rookie of the Year.

Now, instead of his locker being located among the many Minor Leaguers in big league camp, Harris is near Riley, Acuña, Albies and other established stars.

“It feels good to be on this side of the locker room and not necessarily having to worry about getting moved back [to Minor League camp],” Harris said. “It's good to be here to continue working on my spot ... just having fun playing the game I love.”

Along with honing his baseball skills, Harris will also be taking advantage of the chance to golf as much as possible in the Florida sun. He’s scoring in the mid-80s now, but is aiming to soon compete with the team’s best golfers, Bryce Elder and Jackson Stephens, who both consistently shoot in the low 70s.

“I’m trying to get down to scratch, and then I’ll be on the [PGA] Tour soon,” Harris said.