The Atlanta Braves are taking on the Kansas City Royals in their first game of the 2026 campaign on Friday. However, before the game began, Spencer Schwellenbach, along with some other pitchers on the roster, received important injury updates.

During a guest appearance on “680 The Fan,” Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos revealed that Schwellenbach is still recovering from arthroscopic elbow surgery, and his timeline is still up in the air. Meanwhile, AJ Smith-Shawver could return by the All-Star Break, and Hurston Waldrep is expected to return at some point this season.

“I would say Smith-Shawver, I think his surgery is the beginning of June,” said Anthopoulos. “So, you're looking at 13 months range… Give or take, I think the All-Star Break is a nice kind of area to see where [Smith-Shawver] is at… Waldrep is in four weeks and no throw. He's got another two weeks of rest, and then he's gonna get going again…

“[Schwellenbach] is a little bit of unknown there. We just have to wait. He's still in the recovery phase… It's just gonna come down to once he gets cranked up and starts throwing again, does he have any issues, does he have any pain? But, [the Braves] are gonna get [Schwellenbach] going ASAP.”

Spencer Schwellenbach initially suffered a right elbow fracture in June 2025. Upon attempting to bounce back from the injury, the right-handed 25-year-old pitcher felt tightness in his elbow while rehabbing the injury in January 2026.

He was forced to undergo surgery to repair his elbow once again after being diagnosed with bone spurs and elbow inflammation. Schwellenbach is expected to miss significant time. In his 38 career games, the Braves' star owns a career 3.23 ERA and 1.007 WHIP with 235 strikeouts.