Spencer Strider has damaged UCL; Braves ace to undergo further evaluation

Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider has a broken ulnar collateral ligament — the Tommy John surgical procedure ligament — and can endure additional analysis, the staff introduced Saturday. Strider reported that his elbow was bothering him throughout Friday night time’s 10-inning win over the Arizona Diamondbacks (ATL 6, ARI 5), according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.

“It wasn’t good,” supervisor Brian Snitker mentioned about Strider’s MRI (via The Athletic).

Strider had Tommy John surgical procedure in February 2019, throughout his sophomore season at Clemson. The severity of the tear will decide whether or not Strider wants a second Tommy John surgical procedure, the much less invasive inner brace process, or can rehab the harm.

The 25-year-old Strider had an uncharacteristic outing Friday. For starters, his fastball confirmed diminished velocity. He averaged 95.9 mph, greater than a half tick decrease than his first begin (96.7) and nicely beneath his 97.2 mph common from 2023. Strider additionally had decreased effectiveness: he surrendered 5 runs on seven hits and three walks over the course of 4 innings pitched.

“I believed it was simply a kind of nights,” Braves supervisor Brian Snitker instructed reporters after the staff’s residence opener on Friday. “Then [Strider] got here in and was complaining about his elbow … He was uncomfortable with the way it was feeling.”

Strider, now in his third full big-league season, has established himself as one of many league’s prime beginning pitchers. He entered Friday with a profession 3.37 ERA (128 ERA+) and a 4.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He completed fourth in Nationwide League Cy Younger Award voting final season after compiling a 115 ERA+ and a 13.5 strikeouts per 9 fee over 186⅔ frames.

Even when he avoids surgical procedure, UCL harm means Strider is prone to miss an prolonged time frame. The Braves have a number of choices for filling his rotation spot. These embody younger right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver and 2023 All-Star Bryce Elder together with varied pitchers who’ve made MLB begins previously, together with Dylan Dodd, Allan Winans, and Huascar Ynoa.

The Braves trailed for many of Friday night time. They compelled further innings by scoring three mixed runs within the backside of the eighth and ninth innings. Atlanta then secured its fourth victory of the 12 months within the tenth inning, when a Travis d’Arnaud single introduced within the successful run.

The Braves will proceed their collection with the Diamondbacks on Saturday.