Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider has a damaged ulnar collateral ligament — the Tommy John surgery ligament — and will undergo further evaluation, the team announced Saturday. Strider reported that his elbow was bothering him during Friday night’s 10-inning win over the Arizona Diamondbacks (ATL 6, ARI 5), according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.
“It wasn’t good,” manager Brian Snitker said about Strider’s MRI (via The Athletic).
Strider had Tommy John surgery in February 2019, during his sophomore season at Clemson. The severity of the tear will determine whether Strider needs a second Tommy John surgery, the less invasive internal brace procedure, or can rehab the injury.
The 25-year-old Strider had an uncharacteristic outing Friday. For starters, his fastball showed diminished velocity. He averaged 95.9 mph, more than a half tick lower than his first start (96.7) and well beneath his 97.2 mph average from 2023.
Strider also had reduced effectiveness: he surrendered five runs on seven hits and three walks over the course of four innings pitched.
“I thought it was just one of those nights,” Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters after the team’s home opener on Friday. “Then [Strider] came in and was complaining about his elbow … He was uncomfortable with how it was feeling.”
Strider, now in his third full big-league season, has established himself as one of the league’s top starting pitchers. He entered Friday with a career 3.37 ERA (128 ERA+) and a 4.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting last season after compiling a 115 ERA+ and a 13.5 strikeouts per nine rate over 186â…” frames.
Even if he avoids surgery, UCL damage means Strider is likely to miss an extended period of time. The Braves have several options for filling his rotation spot. Those include young right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver and 2023 All-Star Bryce Elder along with various pitchers who have made MLB starts in the past, including Dylan Dodd, Allan Winans, and Huascar Ynoa.
The Braves trailed for most of Friday night. They forced extra innings by scoring three combined runs in the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings. Atlanta then secured its fourth victory of the year in the 10th inning, when a Travis d’Arnaud single brought in the winning run.
