What are the Atlanta Braves options after elbow injury to Spencer Strider? | Bill Shanks
You almost knew things had gone too well, too easy. The Atlanta Braves had sailed through spring training, even the first week of the regular season with no major (or even minor) injuries, particularly with the pitching staff.
And then, the inevitability of the injury bogeyman appeared in the flesh. Friday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the home opener, star pitcher Spencer Strider didn’t look right. The ease with which he normally sends hitters back to the dugout shaking their heads wasn’t there. Neither was his high-octane velocity.
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After the game, manager Brian Snitker delivered the news. Strider’s elbow was bothering him. Off to the doctor for a MRI, who was waiting with a standing order knowing the call would come.
The results were not good. Strider has an issue with the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. Those three words are usually the equivalent of a four-letter word in baseball.
Strider was the last of the Atlanta starters most thought would have the issue. Fans wondered if Max Fried, who was hurt in the fourth inning on Opening Day in 2023 and made only 14 starts last season, could stay healthy. Chris Sale hasn’t started 30 games or more since 2017, so he was a big question mark.
And of course there’s the 40-year-old Charlie Morton, the Methuselah of the Atlanta rotation. Morton just keeps pitching, and while most worry someone over 40 could throw his last pitch at any point, Morton shows no signs of slowing down.
Strider has already had Tommy John surgery, five years ago when he was still at Clemson. But as we’ve learned with pitchers like Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, a first surgery doesn’t give you a complete pass from having issues — or even another surgery.
It’s incredible, really. You think the Braves enter the season with strong depth, and then this happens. But here’s the thing: it always happens. Go look at every team’s injured list. They all have someone out with arm issues. Even with all the overprotection of pitchers, the stronger care cannot make any team immune from the inevitable.
Teams try and limit pitches, limit innings, skip starts, and any other trick, and pitchers just still get hurt. It’s not a matter of if, but when.
The morning after Strider had his elbow issue pop up, Cleveland starter Shane Bieber learned he would have to have Tommy John surgery on his elbow. Thursday, young Miami pitcher Eury Perez suffered the same fate. He would join Sandy Alcantara, a former Cy Young award winner for the Marlins who had the procedure last October.
It’s an epidemic. Solutions and preventions have been tried and failed. The most catered-to, babied pitchers still get hurt. Pitchers get hurt. It’s that simple. There is no formula, no book or website to look for answers. There is no crystal ball to predict who will get injuries and who will avoid them.
So, what caused this? The MLB Player’s Association sent out a memo Saturday saying the rash of injuries was related to the pitch clock, something it did not agree with, especially when MLB shortened it even more than last year.
Was it Strider’s new curveball? It looked great in spring training. We’ve heard how if kids throw the curveball too much when they are too young, it could cause damage. Was the combination of Strider’s velocity on his fastball and now spinning a curve too much for his elbow?
Was it the violent leg kick that pitchers have in their delivery? When Strider delivers the ball, his right leg flies into the air. He’s not alone, most pitchers have their landing leg in the air instead of landing on the mound. Remember Greg Maddux, an 18-time Gold Glove Award winner. He landed perfectly, in a fielder’s position, after he released the ball. He never had any arm issues.
But the desire for more velocity has pitchers practically slinging the ball now, which is probably why a lot of pitchers bodies are all out of whack. That can’t be good for the elbow. There is no control in the deliveries anymore. The next time you watch a game, watch how the pitchers movement is uncontrolled.
Even Maddux admitted that when he was drafted almost 40 years ago, it was about the velocity. He quickly learned, however, there was more to pitching than just throwing hard. Pitchers have got to learn how to locate and outthink the hitters. Now it just looks like pitchers want to overpower hitters, and with that will come more injuries.
So now what for the Braves? Well, the proclaimed depth in Triple-A Gwinnett will again be needed. Last year, Bryce Elder was called upon after Fried went down. Elder did so well he made the MLB All-Star Game before running out of gas in the second half.
Dylan Dodd was one of the best surprises of spring training, and he’s off to a good start in his first two appearances for Gwinnett. And, of course, top prospect AJ Smith-Shawver could be called upon, even though the Braves prefer to get him significant time in Triple-A this year.
Would the Braves consider signing Trevor Bauer, the former Cy Young Award winner who has been banished from the game due to his off-the-field issues? It’s unlikely, but it should be considered.
The Strider injury is a crippling blow, but the Braves have had to overcome significant setbacks before. No one thought they would recover from Ronald Acuna, Jr.’s knee injury in 2021, and they somehow won the World Series. But this is an ace pitcher. The rest of the rotation will have to step up, and someone who was not expected to pitch a lot will have to come through for them.
At least until some other pitcher gets hurt. And the way baseball is now with all these injuries, it may only be a matter of time before it happens again.
Listen to The Bill Shanks Show weekdays at 3:00 pm ET on TheSuperStations.com and on 104.3 FM in Savannah. Email Bill at TheBillShanksShow@yahoo.com.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Atlanta Braves dealt big blow with Spencer Strider injury