Spencer Strider will start for the Braves in Monday’s Spring Training game with the Red Sox, in a significant step in Strider’s recovery from an internal brace procedure. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (multiple links) figures Strider will pitch in at least five games over the rest of spring camp and during a minor league rehab assignment before officially returning to Atlanta’s rotation during the regular season, which could signal a return date around roughly the middle of April if all goes well.
This would seemingly beat the timeline floated by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand just a few days ago, when Feinsand suggested that Strider would “likely” start a 30-day minor league rehab assignment. Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said have their own “general idea” about when both Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr. will be back from their long-term injuries, yet the team hasn’t given any set timelines.
“The fact that they’re very active participants basically throughout the spring is a good sign. Without having a date right now, we’re definitely on the shorter end, Strider more so than Ronald,” Anthopoulos said.
Should this rough timeline hold, it will mark just slightly over a year on the shelf for Strider, who underwent an internal brace surgery last April 12. While Tommy John surgeries usually require 13-15 months of recovery, internal brace procedures have a slightly shorter timeline of roughly 12-13 months attached. Because brace surgeries are still a relatively new way of addressing UCL injuries, there isn’t yet a standard timeframe for recovery, plus the obvious fact that every pitcher’s arm is a unique entity that recovers at its own pace.
Still, it’s great news for Strider and the Braves that he is on pace to return to the mound sooner rather than later. After making his MLB debut late in the 2021 season, Strider emerged almost fully formed as a front-of-the-rotation pitcher in 2022, and delivered two years of work before he was waylaid by his UCL injury. Strider posted a 2.67 ERA over 131 2/3 innings in 2022, then a 3.86 ERA in 186 2/3 frames in 2023. The latter season saw the right-hander lead the NL in strikeouts (281), strikeout rate (36.8%) and wins (20), while finishing in fourth place in Cy Young Award voting.
As Anthopoulos observed, Acuna has been able to take part in baseball activities during camp, though he isn’t expected to play in any actual games before the Grapefruit League schedule is over. Acuna should return to game action as part of a minor league rehab assignment in April, with an eye towards being activated from the injured list by the middle of May at the earliest. Acuna will start the season on the IL, but it looks as if he’ll be placed on the 10-day rather than the 60-day, which would require him to be sidelined until the last week of May.
That would make it just under a year away for Acuna, who tore his left ACL last May 26. Acuna also tore his left ACL in mid-July 2021 and returned to action by the end of April 2022, so it isn’t surprising that this second major knee injury necessitated a longer recovery time. Acuna also battled some knee soreness throughout the 2022 campaign, which was reflected in a down performance (.266/.351/.413 with 15 homers over 533 plate appearances) by his high standards.
At his best, Acuna is arguably the best player in baseball, as evidenced by his incredible MVP season in 2023. Coming back from one ACL tear to deliver such production is a positive sign that Acuna can return from this latest injury as well, though it is reasonable that Acuna will (like in 2022) take some time to fully return to form. It is also fair to speculate whether or not Acuna can get back to that 2023 peak again, simply due to the difficulty of rebounding from ACL tears in both knees.
Good.
A lot is riding on these 2 to return to form this season, which is unfortunate IMO…we should’ve had a better off-season smh.
“ Acuna also tore his left ACL in mid-July 2021”
That was his right ACL.
No wonder he’s still out.
It says in the article that Acuna tore his left ACL twice, in ’21 and ’24. Then, the next paragraph ends saying he tore both of them. So, there’s a mistake in there somewhere, I assume.
Maybe the geeks are right. We should just play baseball on a spreadsheet instead of in real life. Get AI to generate storylines and gameplay and maybe Acuna will stay on the field.
He’s had all of what, 2 major injuries in his entire career? Both being ACL’s?
@Fowlerrc
We’ll see. He may face challenges in regaining pre-injury performance levels.
IIRC Strider actually didn’t truly have a tear of his UCL, he went in and they saw where scar tissue broke off and calcified or something in his elbow but the UCL was in tact. However because the cleanup surgery was going to have an extended recovery likely jeopardizing the season anyway they went ahead and did the brace procedure while his elbow was open to reinforce it for the future.
Re Acuña:
With his last ACL on his right leg one tidbit that wasn’t widely known is he also had a tear of his meniscus. Additionally with it being the right one that tore it made it challenging for him in the batters box bending and generating power. This time since it’s his left knee he should be able to bounce back offensively a bit better and with the talk of not stealing as many bags it will be fun to hopefully see him play another fifteen years
The moment the Braves get rid of Acuna is the moment the team will look forward and be better.
Or, much more likely, the opposite of this.