Spencer Strider’s season is over, as the Braves announced that the right-hander underwent an internal brace surgery on Friday. It was revealed last week that Strider has suffered some UCL damage, and while a brace surgery is somewhat less serious than the worst-case scenario of another Tommy John surgery, the 25-year-old ace will still miss the remainder of the 2024 campaign.
This marks the second major injury absence of Strider’s career, as he already had a TJ procedure in 2019 when he was still pitching at Clemson. Returning to pitch only 12 innings during the 2020 NCAA season that was interrupted by the pandemic, Strider still got selected in the abbreviated five-round 2020 draft, as Atlanta’s decision to take the righty in the fourth round quickly looked like a steal.
Strider performed so well in his first taste of pro ball that he rocketed through the Braves’ farm system and made his MLB debut in October 2021. Strider hasn’t been back to the minors since, as he moved into Atlanta’s rotation in 2022 and quickly established himself as a frontline arm. Over 318 1/3 innings in 2022-23, Strider posted a 3.36 ERA, an eight percent walk rate, and a whopping 37.4% strikeout rate. This performance earned him runner-up in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022, an All-Star selection and a fourth-place finish in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2023, and a six-year, $75MM contract extension in October 2022 that cemented Strider as one of Atlanta’s cornerstones.
Unfortunately, Strider’s career will now be put on hold for the next year. Exactly when he’ll return in 2025 is somewhat fluid, as internal brace surgeries are still relatively new enough that the recovery timeline isn’t quite as established as the 13-15 months normally associated to Tommy John rehabs. In general, the shorter timeline for brace surgeries means that Strider could be back in Atlanta’s rotation by Opening Day 2025. (For more on the topic, The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen recently wrote a piece detailing the differences between brace procedures, Tommy John surgeries, and UCL revision surgeries.)
Every pitcher’s arm is different, of course, and it is possible Strider’s timeline could be extended because this is already his second UCL-related surgery. The fact that his current UCL damage wasn’t so severe that a full Tommy John surgery was necessary is at least some kind of silver lining, so if all goes well, Strider should be able to cut several months off his rehab.
That fact doesn’t much help a Braves team that is aiming to win the 2024 World Series, and losing Strider is naturally a big hit to these championship aspirations. The remaining starting four of Max Fried, Charlie Morton, Chris Sale, and Reynaldo Lopez is still pretty strong, as Lopez has in particular looked great in his return to a starter’s role. If Lopez can keep up anything close to this form and Sale can remain healthy and effective, the Braves have enough starting pitching depth on paper to perhaps cover for Strider’s absence.
Allan Winans got the start in Strider’s place on Thursday with very shaky (six ER in five innings) results, and Darius Vines has since been called up for what will probably be a longer look in the rotation. Vines made his MLB debut in 2023 with a 3.98 ERA over 20 1/3 innings, and even if Vines isn’t quite ready for prime time, the Braves can turn to Bryce Elder, Dylan Dodd, Huascar Ynoa, AJ Smith-Shawver, Winans, and others down at Triple-A.
Since all of this group are on the 40-man roster and have minor league options remaining, Atlanta could run something of a revolving door through the fifth spot in the rotation, unless someone pitches well enough to seize the job entirely. Given all of these starter candidates on hand, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos might not feel the need to pursue pitching at the deadline, though obviously much can change between now and the end of July. The Braves’ mighty lineup carried the team to 104 wins in 2023 despite several rotation injuries, even if the hope this season was that a healthier pitching staff would be the final piece to carry the team to its second World Series title in four years.
holy crap
ELDER SKELTER!
Isn’t this what Brendan Donovan had?
And Trevor Story which resulted in him missing most of last year.
I don’t apologize for saying he was using it as an excuse. He still is an overrated advanced stat compared to real life guy
Hotdog: Don’t tell me he’s the first of manfred’s grand plan of using robots instead of real life guys.
He’s clearly not the first…
Pretty sure sometime around 2021 Rich Hill became at least a Cyborg if not entirely replaced by a robot.
Excuse for what? He dominated spring and had a great opening day start .. but yea u seem like one of those ERA determines pitcher value.. Nevermind he was at the top of every pitching category
Spring? lol
20 wins and 280 plus K’s are advanced stats?
no. Wins are 1985. K’s are just k’s
Yeah, “ wins are overrated “
Says the Oakland A’s fans
When high school starting pitchers average more IP per game then professionals it’s definitely not important ,but then again it’s about getting to the show, not whether or not your healthy once you get there. Ages 17-22 shouldn’t be without restriction, but 23-30 should. Strider is old school though he puts max effort behind every pitch only problem is prior to pros his coaches wanted to make a name for themselves through the disregard of Striders arm.
I see 16 year old kids that are pitching 2 CG per week. 10 years ago there was a 10 inning cap per week. Now it’s all about fastballs homers and lifting weights even before high school.
K’s are just K’s? While that’s technically correct, it’s obviously of massive importance. And while wins are generally considered a bit fluky, they still show a pitcher’s competence in holding a lead and going deep into a game.
You don’t have to apologize. We’re all quite content just knowing you’re an idiot. =)
Are you saying his 13.5 K/9 over 333 IP is fake?
@MLB Fanatic. I’m sorry. Reasonable assessments of facts are simply not excepted here. Please try in another place and time. Thankyou. This recording is property of posters who can’t think.
Did you mean *accepted or *expected?
Touche. Just don’t ding me on the accent mark. That’s not available to me. =}
Tell me you don’t watch Strider pitch without telling me you don’t watch Strider pitch. This is the most idiotic thing I’ve read on the internet today; congrats.
The Braves are stacked, but this sure puts pressure on the rest of that starting staff to stay healthy.
Surprised that the Braves haven’t extended Max Fried. Extensions for pitchers are never sure bets, but neither is waiting for one to be available via free agency.
Sometimes you have to dance with the one who brought you.
At least it may be better than what the Rangers have paid for Jacob deGrom. But then I think the Mets knew that and that’s why they let him go.
Dylan Cease was available for 2 years at roughly $8 million per …. All he cost was kids off the farm.
The Braves didn’t have the prospects to get Cease.
Padres traded
Thorpe, backs end 80-100 top 100 pitching prospect
Zavala a toolsy single A OF
Iriarte a hard throwing SP prospect
MLB reliever Steve Wilson
Braves have/had enough to match that kind of offer
Waldrep a 80-100 top 100 pitcher
Luis Guanipa toolsy young OF
Cade Kuehler hard throwing SP pitching prospect
Darius Vines mlb reliever
The Braves didn’t need Cease, nor did I want them to pay the price to acquire him. Even now, I’m relieved they didn’t. I’d much rather they keep AJSS and Waldrep.
Thorpe is a better prospect than Waldrep. And I really don’t think the Braves could afford to trade Waldrep at all. And I don’t know who those other guys are they dont really compare to the guys the Padres traded.
The Braves have traded away a LOT of young talent the last few years. Between that and picking low in the draft their system isn’t very good. That’s the price you pay for being a good team I suppose. But replacing a guy like Strider isn’t possible.
“ And I don’t know who those other guys are they dont really compare to the guys the Padres traded.”
If you don’t know who they are then how do you know they don’t compare?
Waldrep is ranked higher than Thorpe is on many top 100 lists
Zavala has 55 hit, 50 power, 55 run, 55 arm, 50 field overall 50
Guanipa has 55 hit, 50 power, 65 run, arm 45, field 50 overall 50
Very much similar outlook young OFs with only different being Zavala projects to have a better arm while Guanipa projects to be faster
Iriarte
65 FB, 55 slider, 55 change up, 45 control overall 50
Kuehler has
60 FB, 55 CB, 60 slider, 50 change up, control 45 overall 50
Both are similar in profile with Iriarte projecting an upper 97-98mph topping at 100 while Kuehler is in the 95-96 mph range topping at 98. Kuehler projects a better slider while Iriarte projects a better change.
Wilson has a 4 seam slider change up cutter
Vines has a 4 seam slider change up cutter
Only difference is Wilson throws fastball slider while Vines used his fb cutter and change up more in his rookie season.
Should see vines slider usage go up more he gets comfortable throwing it.
So yeah Braves had similar pieces the padres had and could have easily pulled off a cease trade if they wanted to.
Those secondary pieces are not as good as the guys the Padres gave up. You clearly look at prospect lists so you should know that. And again I don’t think the Braves would consider trading Waldrep. The Padres traded Thorpe because they still had Snelling and Lesko. The Braves don’t have the kind of prospect depth to allow them to trade Waldrep.
Yeah technically the Braves could have traded for Cease but it would have gutted what is already a thin farm system.
@Very Barry
I am grateful that AA gave up nothing and kept the pitching the Braves have, including Waldrep and Schwellenbach to mention 2
The Braves didn’t want to give up what Chicago was asking for, AJSS & Waldrep
White Sox Sucks: I think you have to update your stats. I believe they’re 2-11, although you can wait after today’s game and make it 2-13. GO SOX!!!
There’s a difference between “should they” and “could they”
Yes Braves could have pulled off a trade for Cease. They have the pieces.
No Braves should not have pulled off a trade for reasons you mentioned.
“Those secondary pieces are not as good”
Based on what? Zavala and Guanipa are both in low ball and are teens.
Iriarte is 22 in double a Kuehler is 22 in single a having been drafted last year as a 2nd round pick.
Hard to say they’re not as good cause none have reached the big leagues.
si.com/mlb/braves/transactions/the-braves-tried-an…
I believe that the White Sox would receive a whole lot more credit if they were using prospects on their roster instead constantly dumpster diving. All of the players from Atlanta should be playing, and Robert, Moncada, etc, should be replaced with guys who have a potential future.
Waldrep has two plus secondary offerings and the splitter may be plus plus. His slider has the highest spin rate in the minors, FYI. If he reigns in his control, he’s an ace, if not, he’s an all-star closer.
I think teams were a bit hesitant with Cease considering the last few successful White Sox pitchers that moved teams (Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, etc.) were markedly worse after their departure. It seems strange to say that since the White Sox are quite literally a smoking crater where a baseball team used to stand but hey! things happen fast, I guess…
They have little financial flexibility probably. All these good contracts but you can only have so many. They don’t seem to want to dish that money out on pitching beyond a short deal. Max is gonna get a lot of money and he has concerns himself (he’s not exactly a 180-200 inning guy). They won’t do it. It’s not their game. Look at how they got their latest rotation piece in Reynaldo Lopez…creativity, scouting, and a bit of a gamble. They have two great arms coming up and some wild cards. They will lose Morton too someday soon. They are likely gonna get creative or give out one 3-4 year deal.
ELV: It’s a great point, and obviously Fried is an excellent pitcher. However, they did try to extend him last season, but it seems Fried wants a lot more than they were willing to offer.
si.com/mlb/braves/analysis/its-now-or-never-on-a-c….
All you need to know about that situation is that Scott Boras is Fried’s agent, so the likelihood of an extension is about zero even if the Braves want it to happen.
Fried is a CAA client – not Boras. Did he switch?
The Braves have no Boras clients on their roster.
He doesn’t want to stay in Atlanta.
They had 16 starters last year with 104 wins. Sure, their offense shouldn’t be as steady as it was. Missing Fried (elbow inflammation) and getting almost nothing from Kyle Wright really put them in a tough spot. Luckily, Elder was a 1st half stud. Hope he still has something left in the tank.
Stacked? Good off. Pitching? Na not for 162!
The Braves and White Sox have an excellent trading relationship. If the Braves are willing to put Waldrep, Schwellenbach, Ritchie, Murphy and Perdomo on the table …. We can open discussions on Garrett Crochet.
Paul Blackburn OAK
Run DMC: I’m surprised Fisher hasn’t sold off players like Blackburn and Brown.
I’m pretty sure Waldrep and Perdomo are off the table. The Braves seem pretty high on Schwellenbach too.
@VeryBarry
You can keep Crochet.
Fred: I hope they do. He’s now the only player on the Sox worth watching.
bro I badly wanted braves to get cease because then he would be with strider who looks exactly like cease and it would be a strikeout bonanza in Atlanta
cease k9: 10.8
strider k9: 13.5
sale k9: 11.1
Morton k9 (as a brave): 10.4
and then fried (who has Maddux’s glove)who can strike people out sometimes
Last year’s forearm strain screams TJS. As much as Inlove Fried, it would be a major risk to throw long term, big money at him.
The internal brace procedure is becoming more popular, allowing pitchers to return to the field in under one year instead of 14-18 months. Question is, is there data to show if it’s as effective as TJS?
the procedure used is dictated by the severity of the injury. you can’t have the brace procedure if you have a more severe tear.
From my understanding, the brace acts as a “seat belt” for a damaged UCL to limit further trauma. I think it depends on the individual whether it can be effective and allow the UCL time to heal. Being that it’s a relatively new procedure, we’re going to need a much bigger dataset to reach any conclusions. Some players receiving full TJS can have an additional brace added as well. That itself is another dataset.
fantasy.fangraphs.com/the-ucl-internal-brace-surge…
My day is ruined
As expected. Braves just gotta keep on hitting.
Need a big Fried contract year for sure. Can’t expect Sale and Lopez to be in rotation through a full season. Interestingly we will likely get long looks at many pitchers this year from the prospects to hopefully some Huascar Ynoa and (eventually) Ian Anderson (I like a good comeback story). Elder is obviously gonna get starts too unless he implodes. I guess I should throw Vines in there as well.
Rishi: I agree that Sale is somewhat of a risk as far as going injury free for an entire season, but Strider is proof that you never know who’s gonna be on the operating table next.
Even if Sale is injury free I don’t really expect him to be in the rotation all season and playoffs (if we can get ahead of ourselves a bit here). He is a multi year commitment and it’s not in his best interest or the teams. Well Strider has been injured before and has had TJ already too so perhaps he is more injury prone than we think. But you are right. Who knows who is next
Health has been the only reason not to have Sale in any rotation – why would it not be in his best interest or the team’s to have him there if healthy? I’m confused by this statement.
It will probably work itself out but I meant he likely has some sort of innings limit. He has barely pitched in 3 years. If he were healthy all through towards August-September would they have to shut him down? Would he be able to pitch in playoffs? It matters with Strider down.
Rishi, that’s even dumber than your normal comments. Impressive
Not sure what to say. Idk why you care what I think. Opinions abound on any matter. It’s hardly dumb to point out that if he were to stay healthy all season he is gonna get shut down as he’s under contract beyond 24′ and pitched about 100 innings in 4 years. I only mention it because idk what they plan to do for the postseason with Strider and with a limit on Lopez’s innings. Either way whether he stays healthy or not Sale doesn’t seem like he would be able to start in playoffs unless he rests or is hurt a good 90 days of the season. Idk why that’s dumb. He could be skipped once a month I guess. It’s simply a fact as far as I can tell. You could mute me. Just do us both the favor if you are unable to control those impulsive responses stemming from the untamed passions rousing in your britches.
Vines will be the next out of the gate, as he’s looked the best at AAA so far. That being said, they really need to make room for Ken Giles in the pen. Dylan Lee, ya suspect!
Dylan Lee is quite good imo. Haven’t seen him this year (or since his injury) but he has like 8 scoreless at the least. Haven’t seen those games tho as I said.
@Rishi — you were saying about Dylan Lee (he just gave up a 2-run HR 4/14…) lol
Trevor Bauer on line 1.
He is a bad teammate and cancer says unnamed teammates. Oh wait. Many have said the opposite. Including a top 3 player in MLB
Saint Nick: And Urias in line 2.
@Hotdog Who has spoke positive of Bauer other than Betts??
I.M. Insane: I believe it was the A’s in the 1970’s that couldn’t stand each other, but they still won 4 WS in a row. The Gas House Gang of the 1930’s were the same way and they were in the WS three times, winning it twice.
** Listening to hold music: Meatloaf’s “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” on repeat **
Haha this made me lol. Thanks.
Someone hang up on line 1 please, and thank you. The Braves will be fine. Even if they weren’t, I’d rather watch them lose without Bauer than win with him; and it’s very unlikely he’s going to be the pitcher his fan club believes he will.
His fan club?
Braves won’t be fine. The 2023 postseason should have been the indicator. Bauer at league minimum plus incentives should be on the table.
Nobody’s taking that call.
Wait…him missing time in college for TJS is “a major absence in Strider’s career”? His career started before pro ball in college? So what about Little League when he missed two weeks from strep throat?
Deep breaths, mate.
MLB franchises scout college baseball players, they don’t scout little league
Sure, but does your career start in college, where he’s playing amateur ball? It’s not the pros for a reason. I know it’s just semantics, but it’s disingenuous to say it’s his 2nd major injury absence of his career, implying being prone to injury, when it happened in college not playing pro ball. They can state the facts (he had TJS in college) without that statement.
It’s not semantics. Career has multiple definitions; in this case they don’t mean “career = employment” they mean “career = working permanently on a specific profession”
Isn’t college paying players now? I guess technically, it could be considered professional.
This is a big blow but the Braves can overcome it. Just 3 years ago they won the Workd Series missing their top hitter most of the year (RAJ). I am a big Strider fan and hope he makes a full recovery. I think the Braves are still favorites to go deep into the playoffs. Their top catcher is also out for a bit (Murphy) and Braves are cruising so far in the NL East. I am not worried yet. They have plenty of starting pitching options.
The concern is the rest of the rotation. There was already expected to be shuffling going on when Reynaldo reaches an innings limit and Sale is gonna have off time probably at some point. In an ideal world Smith-Shawver or Waldrep would step up late in season but they will also have quite low innings limits. I really don’t know what they will do. Even Anderson and Ynoa are coming off injury so they too will be closely monitored.
He won’t make the rotation quite yet, but I think this year is Smith-Shawver’s time to shine. Even when Strider returns he can just slot into Fried’s spot. Fried departs in FA – Boras will see to that.
@solaris602 – Fried isn’t a Boras client (CAA), though he will depart. You should tell AJSS it’s his time to shine. Though early, his first 2 GS are the wrong foot.
He hasn’t pitched more than 80 innings in a professional season yet. Hold your horses on him.
The Braves pitching has been suspect all over. Unless you think the Braves will keep scoring 7/8 runs a game( a possibility) they might have some problems.
Suspect from what? Fried had a slow ST, like most vets, returning from a shortened season last year. He had 2 uncharacteristic early season outings. Were those 2 IP an anomaly or the mean?
Morton has been wild, per usual, and Sale/Lopez good so far. Are you talking about Mets draftee-Winans in his lone start? Glad the Mets unwrapped the gift given to them, sealed with former Met, Luis Guillorme’s IP (4 ER).
You gave an excuse for almost all of your pitchers in telling me why they haven’t been suspect so far. You you have an excuse for them then they are suspect. If you think Sale is getting through the season intact then you deserve your outcome. The Braves have played the least amount of games in the NL east but have given up the fourth most runs.
@Mets6986’s statement, “The Braves pitching has been suspect all over.” What about Lopez’s 2 QS with a 1.00 WHIP is suspect? “So far” — cue small sample size you’re critiquing here — he’s been one of the best SPs in MLB (5th in ERA, 14th in OBA). Sale is also 1.03 WHIP in 2 GS with a 3.38 ERA vs. ARZ/PHI – 2 top offenses. What about that is suspect?
While I agree that getting Sale through the year healthy will be a challenge, they wouldn’t have acquired/extended him if that wasn’t the goal. Lopez, as well. If you want to capitalize on the minute window of time that Fried has looked “suspect” and overlook last night’s domination of lowly MIA, then go ahead. Just don’t be surprised of him bringing that ERA down and he normalizes to his career rates.
2 GS in for each pitcher with one injury and let’s hit the panic button.
Lopez has been a reliever until this year. Let’s see if he can start all year. I’m saying you have a lot of question marks pitching. You might be able to bash your way past them or the question marks might go away. Strider hurts a lot in your bid for a world championship.
Braves pitching is officially suspect after this. No denying it. Let’s see how the next two months play out.
that’s the exact problem… their pitching is extremely suspect… If they don’t score a lot of runs, they are toast
It’s a 162 game season. The pitching staff struggling in April doesn’t really matter. Look at the back of their baseball cards and you’ll see the story.
As a Dodger fan, im sorry my fellow Braves fans and their community. This is a huge loss for not only your team but the game. Here’s to a quick and healthy recovery!!!
Classy post. Thanks
My condolences to Spencer Strider, and to Braves fans. Hope you get back even better than you were ASAP. It sucks when players get hurt like this, especially the best ones in the game. Speedy recovery to Spencer Strider.
With all these injuries to pitchers, I wonder when someone is going to pull guys like Maddux, and Moyer back into the game to teach these guys how to pitch at lower velocity, and get more movement. If I were Strider, the first call I make after the surgery is to Greg Maddux, and go to school.
Maddux pitched like it was whiffle ball. That’s when pitchers pitched. Today they just throw and test their peak until they hit it and crash. Mach 10 doesn’t mean good pitching, and I’m sure some scouts will be looking for pitching that resembles Maddux, Glavine, etc. so teams can sustain a staff without paying enormous salaries for disabled players.
Trust me….I remember exactly how Maddux pitched.
Maddox, Glavine, Moyer played the game the way it was designed to be played going all the way back to the friggin mid 1800s when guys like Doubleday got fed up with the slow pace of Cricket and invented our national past time.
Not only were these guys crafty with pitch selection but they strategically varied time in between pitches of each batter’s at bat.. Strategy baby strategy. In the quest of the almighty dollar, the MLB powers that be have turned our national past time from a chess game to checkers. And sadly, with combined emphasis on players being stronger and shortening up length of game, a glaring result are injuries on the mound, in the field and at the plate. Bunch of morons are running the joint these days.
Except it was rounders, not cricket, and the Abner Doubleday involvement was a fabrication dreamt up by someone trying to tie the game to a war hero years after the fact …
Classy
Maddux threw 95 when he came into the league, couldn’t control it, and got shelled. I’ll paraphrase one of his quotes that always stuck out to me; “I would rather throw at 90% effort and put it exactly where I want with movement than throw it as hard as I can.” Baseball would be much better off if coaches and players at every level would listen to the advice of arguably the greatest pitcher of the past 50 years.
Huge blow for the Braves. But if any team can lose an ace and still cruise to the playoffs its them
Phillies will give them a run for their money in the division if they can get any kind of consistency out of the back end of their rotation.
Phillis aren’t even going to finish ahead of the Mets.
So you think the Phillies will finish 5th?
No third. I guess math is hard for you.
I’m pretty sure SBSD intended exactly what was typed …
Na wrong. Pitching will be there downfall. They gave GM big contract ex. !? He’s a problem for them. Afraid to trade for Pitching when needed. Has done this alot last few years. Great offense, Pitching always seems to sink them.
How dumb do you intend on being in one comment? AA is a very good GM who has traded for multiple pitchers, and they have lost in the playoffs the last two seasons because their bats went cold, not the pitching.
Giving up ten runs in a game is because bats went cold? Don’t call other people dumb?
Now you’ll get two Philly aces returning to silence the Atlanta bats and the Braves will not have an answer on the mound. Any current Braves SP you expect to be all-world is possible but not probable.
You may need to tell Nola he’s an ace. He needs to hear that.
Did Nola shutting down your Braves in 2022 and 2023 not send a message?
Philly has shutdown guys that have knocked your Braves out two years in a row. You can keep lying to yourself that the Braves will be fine. Starting pitching is officially suspect in Atlanta. Braves fans have no right to diminish Aaron Nola when he’s silenced your mighty bats two Octobers in a row.
Glad AA was able to drive the price up.
ERA+ (100 is league average)
’21: 90
’22: 123
’23: 98
’24: 97
= “Ace!”
Ah, you’re one of those.
Here’s a simpler one for you: Aaron Nola is a consensus Top 25 starting pitcher in baseball. Actually, an argument can be made that he is Top 15. With 30 teams in the majors….oh would you look at that! Aaron Nola is an ace.
Meanwhile you have zero aces on Atlanta and 0 for 2 against the Phillies and Nola who’s dominated your Braves in October. Atlanta is in-trouble. Recognize.
LOL — whatever you say, Ace.
Not going to lie, I hope the Phillies win the division and get the week off so the Braves can maintain timing and momentum. The new playoff rules are atrocious.
Relate to the pitch clock!!
Why is Anderson not take in any consideration?
He’s recovering from his surgery. Won’t be available until the All-Star Break if all goes well.
Anderson is still rehabbing. He’s not expected to pitch for another couple months or so as far as I know.
Good, he’ll be ready for the playoffs where he is an absolute killer.
RIP to his career as a front line starter. Facing a year plus of recovery and the inevitable setback(s) his future is in the pen or possibly settling into a coaching role down the road.
What are tonight’s Powerball numbers, oh wise one?
This is a weirdly damning comment
It’s not. It’s time saving and it’s predictably accurate based on historical precedent and undisputed science.
LMAO I mean you can say that but it doesn’t make it so.
Show me the undisputed science that says strider will have inevitable setbacks and have to move to bullpen or coaching
He may wind up selling beer at Truist Park next season if Jimmy had his way.
GM AA. Madman or genius … or is this the norm for a FO when signing a pitcher to long extension? Tiny yearly salary in the beginning then huge on the back end.
If Sale goes down, its going to be big trouble for the Braves. Sale is fragile like fine blown glass. Guys like Stanton and Sale, can take a step and pull something.
Morton is also old as dirt and Fried hasn’t pitched like himself yet. This offense is going to have to outscore people.
Wild card maybe! That’s about it.
Gee, and I was so looking forward to see the new fancy curveball they had him working on this spring!
MLB really needs to address pre-tacked balls. Pitchers are vulnerable to significant injuries traceable to ever-increasing demands of the game. Pre-tacked balls would allow them more control and less fatigue. MLB needs to address it’s addiction to MORE.
Whoever invents an artificial Ulnar Collateral Ligament that works will be very rich in short order.
They already have. Just haven’t reached the point yet for extensive testing on people.
Everything looked good for this guy until……….wait for it…..THE PITCH CLOCK
I doubt the Braves beat the Dodgers now in a 7 game series, it was going to go 7 before this injury anyway. Something also seems off about Max Fried right now and if he ain’t right they won’t beat Philadelphia either. Instead of being a 100 win team now you looking at maybe a 94 win squad. May not be enough to win the division and it won’t be better than the Dodgers. Philly and Atlanta in a dogfight now.
If the Braves keep playing the way they are (even losing at home to the Mets) they may not even make the playoffs… Hell they almost lost a series to the Fish… They will need to out score you because thei pitching is very suspect as of late…
VJ
The Braves are on a 104 win pace
and in the last 6 games have scored 35 runs and given up 42…
Also in the first 5 series, they split with the White Sox. lost 2 of 3 to the Mets , and got very luck to take 2 of 3 from the Fish…
jv
uhh….ok
kinghum
“I doubt the Braves beat the Dodgers now in a 7 game series, it was going to go 7 before this injury anyway. ”
Imagine knowing so little that you think you know this
Without Strider, I fear the Braves will actually beat the Phillies in the playoffs.
Two years of wearing a stupid man’s mustache.
Trevor Bauer is available
I talk to so many Cub fans that want them to sign him. I don’t think it would be a good idea. Dude is a total hothead. They don’t need a major distraction in their clubhouse. They got great chemistry right now. No reason to ruin that.
Hoping for a speeding recovery for Spencer Strider.