It would seem the Braves have avoided a crisis on the Spencer Strider front.
According to a report from Mark Bowman of MLB.com, an MRI of Strider’s right elbow after his early exit in Friday’s 7-5 loss to the Mets showed no ligament damage. Although his fastball velocity fell precipitously to 88 mph before he left the game after three-plus innings, all he reportedly is dealing with is elbow inflammation, meaning there’s no immediate concerns about Strider needing to have another surgery.
Per Bowman, Monday’s visit to see Dr. Keith Meister was just to examine the next steps in Strider’s return to the mound. Meister previously performed Strider’s internal brace procedure in his right elbow in 2024. The right-hander previously also had full-blown Tommy John surgery when he was at Clemson in 2019.
Meister will reportedly provide a timeline for Strider, giving the Braves a better idea of when he could be back on the mound in the coming days.
It’s still not a good situation for Strider, who continues to be unable to remain on the mound for extended stretches as he has battled a series of injuries. However, it would certainly be much better news for the Braves than it first appeared to be on Friday.
In the meantime, the Braves will have to navigate being an extra starter down with a few rehabbing players not quite back yet and now another arm on the injured list for at least the next few weeks.
