On Tuesday afternoon, the Atlanta Braves got an unfortunate injury update on starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenback heading into the 2026 season. It was reported by Mark Bowman of MLB.com that Schwellenback will go on the 60-day injured list due to elbow inflammation and likely miss most of the first half of the upcoming season.
However, recently, Braves newly minted manager Walt Weiss had a more optimistic outlook on the rest of the team as they head into spring training.
“Our position player depth is as good as I've seen since I've been here,” said Weiss, per Gabe Burns of the AJC on X, formerly Twitter.
The Braves and their fans will certainly hope that that depth shows up in a big way throughout the 2026 season, as the team looks to bounce back after missing the playoffs altogether in 2025.
Last year, not much of anything went right for Atlanta, as the team missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season, with many players on the roster suffering severe regression in terms of their production.
Atlanta also saw numerous key injuries, including on their pitching staff, which makes the Schwellenback news all the more troubling as the start of the season approaches.
Many fans had been clamoring for the Braves to look to add another starting-caliber pitcher heading into the year, and now, their depth in that department will be tested, with one of their most talented young starters on the sidelines for at least the first 60 days of the season, and possibly beyond that.
In any case, the Braves are slated to kick off their 2026 season in late March, and will hope to get good news on the Schwellenback front sooner rather than later.
