Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Strider will be shut down for 4 weeks due to right elbow inflammation the team announced following imaging on his throwing arm.
Strider had already been placed on the injured list over the weekend, and met with Dr. Keith Meister on Monday to determine next steps following an MRI. The current plan is for the 27 year old to undergo additional imaging a month from now, and if things have improved, he can begin ramping up a throwing program.
Because there will then be a progression to regain his arm strength before he can begin facing live hitters again, a “best case scenario” seems to have Strider out for at least 2 months at this point. That would have the hard throwing righty sidelined through at least mid-August if everything goes well.
Strider saw his velocity dip noticeably in Saturday’s game, going from 96mph to 88mph as he was roughed up to the tune of 7 earned runs across 3 innings. The team wasted little time in placing him on the injured list afterwards in an effort to let him rest his arm. However, given Strider’s previous issues with his elbow, including Tommy John surgery back in 2019, and an internal brace being surgically added in 2024, a two month absence is certainly on the shorter end of the potential outcomes that were at play.
Strider burst onto the scene as a 23 year old back in 2022, posting a 2.67 ERA with 202 Ks across 131.2IP. He then followed this up by winning an MLB best 20 games the following year, while leading the majors in strikeouts with 281 across 186.2IP. He missed all but 2 games of 2024 due to injury, and then put together a healthy, but subpar by his standards, season last year going 7-14 with a 4.45 ERA.
This year Strider had gone 4-2 with a 5.31 ERA across 8 starts, recording 46 Ks across 39IP. That record was thanks in most part to Atlanta’s elite offence, as the native of Columbus, OH, was sporting the worst HR/9 and BB/9 rates of his career in any non-shortened season to date.
The club had called up reliever Anthony Molina from the minors on the weekend to add another arm to the mix. For now, the team will deploy Grant Holmes on Tuesday, who figures to be followed by JR Ritchie, Martin Perez, Chris Sale, and Bryce Elder. With an August 3rd trade deadline, and no guarantee that Strider will regain his pre-injury form, Atlanta could suddenly find themselves in the market for some reliable starting pitching as they try to fend off the Dodgers for the top seed in the National League.
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