ATLANTA — Spencer Strider had an MRI on his sore elbow Saturday, and the results showed what the Braves feared: damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in the pitching arm of one of baseball’s most dynamic talents.
The team didn’t specify the extent of the damage, but UCL tears usually require Tommy John surgery.
“It wasn’t good, and you hate that — hate it for him,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of the MRI results. “I feel really bad for him, a kid that does everything right. Loves to compete, and just everything. So, just wait and see what they decide to do.”
Strider, 25, already had Tommy John surgery once, for a torn UCL in 2019 when he was at Clemson. The Braves said they won’t have definitive news regarding the injury and treatment until Strider meets with specialist Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, within the next few days.
Tommy John surgery would end Strider’s season and likely keep him out until the middle of the 2025 season, based on rehab protocols the Braves and most other teams follow. Though the Braves have plenty of starting-pitcher depth in the minors, there obviously would be a substantial dropoff in replacing Strider, arguably the most dominant starting pitcher in baseball.
Among the candidates are Bryce Elder, who made the All-Star team in 2023 in his first full MLB season before fading badly in the second half, and left-hander Dylan Dodd, who allowed nine hits and two runs in 6 2/3 innings of a Triple-A game Friday.
“You hate to lose him like that, but we’re going to keep going and fighting hard,” Snitker said. “It’s happened to a lot of other people, we’re not the only ones that have been bit by it this year. That’s just part of it. You deal with it. That’s why you try to acquire depth in your organization, because you know you’re going to need it. Nobody’s insulated from it, everybody goes through it. Multiple teams out there have dealt with this same thing.”
#Braves‘ Brian Snitker on rash of pitching injuries in baseball: “Well, they’re throwing harder than ever and spinning the ball more than ever. I don’t know. I hate it for everybody concerned. That’s the biggest thing we have in our game, man, is the pitching.”
— David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) April 6, 2024
Although numerous pitchers have returned to pitch effectively after a second Tommy John surgery, there’s not as much certainty of performing at the same level as there is for a pitcher coming back from a first TJ procedure.
“The way I look at it, you pray for the best,” Braves third baseman Austin Riley said minutes before hearing news of the MRI. “We don’t know nothing yet, but the way I look at is, a guy that prepares as much as he does and is so diligent about everything he does … like I said, you just hope it’s nothing crazy. Because he prepares and cares as much as anyone on this team. Hopefully it’s good — better than worse.”
Strider gave up seven hits, five runs and three walks with four strikeouts in four innings of a 10-inning Braves win Friday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and afterward told the team trainer that his elbow was sore.
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Although Strider seemed off Friday and his fastball velocity was down 1.3 mph from his Opening Day start and from his average velocity in 2023, Snitker and his staff, and catcher Travis d’Arnaud, thought Strider was just having the kind of “off” night that even the best pitchers have at least a few times most seasons.
Snitker said the pitcher didn’t say anything about his elbow during the 88-pitch outing.
“No, not till after,” Snitker said. “Because I know he told somebody, ‘I didn’t go back out because they took me out of the game.’ I think if we’d have told him to go back out there, he would have went back out and kept pitching.”
The team was still working through logistics to set up that appointment with Meister in Texas, but it was evident from Snitker’s comments and tone that they are not expecting any encouraging news from the specialist. Their own medical staff already saw the MRI, and at this point “good news” seems unlikely.
“The good news is, he’s going to get whatever it is fixed and come back,” Snitker said, “and continue to have a really good career.”
Strider, a fourth-round draft pick by the Braves in 2020, reached the majors after only 22 minor league games, and led MLB in strikeouts and strikeout rate over his first two full seasons in 2022-2023, going 31-10 with a 3.36 ERA in 63 games including 52 starts in that span, with a stunning 483 strikeouts in 318 1/3 innings. He was 20-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 2023 and led the majors with an Atlanta-record 281 strikeouts in 186 2/3 innings.
Before Friday, Strider needed just nine strikeouts to become the fastest in MLB history to reach 500 Ks among pitchers who were primarily starters.
(Photo of Spencer Strider: David J. Griffin / Icon Sportswire via Associated Press)
