This is heartbreaking. In his last start for the Atlanta Braves, Spencer Strider looked… off. After giving up multiple runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the ace exited the game pretty early. Immediately after his exit, rumors emerged about a potential elbow injury. Now, the Braves' worst fears have been confirmed. Spencer Strider will miss the entire 2024 season as he underwent season-ending elbow surgery, per Bob Nightengale.
“The latest: Atlanta ace Spencer Strider underwent season-ending elbow surgery and was fitted with a brace to repair the ulnar collateral ligament on Friday.”
Strider had a pretty uncharacteristic start for the Braves against the Diamondbacks. In the four innings he pitched, the ace gave up seven hits and five runs. It wasn't just the stats that showed his struggles, too: his fastball clearly lost a lot of velocity. It was clear that something was wrong with the ace, and his early exit proved exactly that.
The Braves will now have to find a way to make it through the rest of the season without their best pitcher. Their current rotation consists of Max Fried, new signees Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez, and Charlie Morton. It's unclear yet what Atlanta's plan will be to fill the massive hole left by Spencer Strider's injury.
Braves' rotation in jeopardy
As mentioned, the Braves currently have four starters penciled in for the season. Sale and Lopez have been excellent so far this season. Morton is still a solid pitcher who can give you consistent output. Fried, on the other hand, has been misfiring as of late. A day after Strider's injury, it was Fried's turn to struggle on the mound.
It will certainly be interesting to see how the Braves handle who to replace Strider in the rotation. Perhaps the team will call up some of their top prospects. AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep are likely going to see time on the mound this season to assess whether they can make it big in the league. They could also go with the more experienced Bryce Elder, or even Dylan Dodd.
There's also the possibility of the team going into the free agency bin to see what happens there. Given the amount of talent on the market, though, the Braves are likely going to be going into their in-house talent pool to fix this problem. Their track record suggests that the team will be doing a much better job in this way.
This is a brutal blow for the Braves, who were hoping to see another gear from Strider. After utilizing a two-pronged attack with his fastball-slider combination with a change-up at times, the Braves were hoping to see the ace use a brand-new curveball. This injury will take Strider out for the entirety of the 2024 season, and perhaps even a bit more.
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