The Atlanta Braves are preparing to enter the Walt Weiss era in 2026. However, Atlanta is barely into spring training and starting pitching is already emerging as a problem.
Right-hander Hurston Waldrep felt pain when throwing a live bullpen. An MRI showed loose bodies, which is likely to lead to some form of procedure, via Allison Mastrangelo of WSB-TV. Waldrep will figuring out his next steps after meeting with doctors.
“Hurston Waldrep had a live BP the other day, looked great,” Weiss said. “Came in a little sore the next day, took an MRI, had some loose bodies. We'll know more after tomorrow. Probably needs to be dealt with, I don't know what that looks like.”
BREAKING: After Hurston Waldrep threw live BP the other day he had some pain. MRI revealed loose bodies in his elbow. It’s likely he will need some type of a procedure to clean things up. Waldrep is meeting with doctors in the next couple days to decide next steps. pic.twitter.com/wH4Sxa3EYU
— Alison Mastrangelo (@AlisonWSB) February 15, 2026
The Braves are already down Spencer Schwellenbach and AJ Smith-Schuster. Having Waldrep on the shelf only hurts their pitching depth further. Atlanta will hope the injury doesn't force him off the diamond for a significant amount of time. But if forced to undergo any procedure, Waldrep certainly wouldn't be pitching a full season.
The right-hander looked impressive over an albeit short sample size in 2025. In his 10 appearances, nine starts, Waldrep put up a 2.88 ERA and a 55/22 K/BB ratio. He'll look to capitalize on his performance whenever he steps on the mound again.
In his absence, the Braves may be forced to look outside the organization for pitching help. General manager Alex Anthopolous said Atlanta has the payroll flexibility to make a move, via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He offered Lucas Giolito and Zack Littell as potential options.
First, the Braves must find out how serious Waldrep's injury really is. From there, they can plan their next course of action.
