The Braves will give back Spencer Strider on the 15-day injured list Sunday, manager Walt Weiss told reporters before tonight’s win over Detroit (via Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). He will make his season debut this weekend at Coors Field.
Strider missed the first month of the season after struggling during Spring Training. He took the ball three times in a rehab stint, pitching five innings and 82 pitches at Triple-A Gwinnett. Strider’s stuff looks sharp, as he averages 95.5 mph on his fastball and sits at 84 with a slider. It’s not the high 90s heat he showed before elbow surgery in April 2024, but last year’s speed game.
The Atlanta rotation was successful despite a spring injury to Strider, Hurston Waldrep, Spencer Schwellenbach again Joey Wentz – to say nothing AJ Smith-Shawver’s 2025 UCL surgery. Bryce Elder he has tightened his grip on the spinning wheel. Grant Holmes again Martín Pérez They have worked between strike and walk numbers to manage good results. The Braves also got a look at the rookies Didier Fuentes again JR Ritchie. He is set up well enough to push Reynaldo López in the barn at the moment.
Ritchie held the Hot Nationals to two runs over seven innings in his start last week. He struggled with his command a bit tonight but managed 5 2/3 frames of three-run ball against Detroit. Weiss said the backfield expects Ritchie to take another chance in the rotation (reported by MLB.com’s Mark Bowman). That will come early next week at T-Mobile Park, a sweet moment for the Seattle native.
That would allow the Braves to use Pérez out of the bullpen. The old man is leaving tomorrow afternoon to try to sweep MaNgwe. Although the Braves have not announced plans for the first two games of the Colorado series, they will have Holmes and Holmes. Chris Sale they are lined up for more rest after Monday’s off day.
Strider is one of the few key players coming back from injury. Weiss says this evening that close Raisel Iglesias it is not expected to require a remodeling assignment (per Bowman). He could return directly to the MLB bullpen when he starts suiting up on Tuesday after mild shoulder inflammation. That will go away Robert Suarez return to the setup page.
Sean Murphy he’s been in the rehabilitation phase since April 14. Those can last up to 20 days for position players, so he’ll be back Monday at the latest without a setback. Ha-Seong Kim opened his 20-day rehab window tonight with an appearance at Double-A Columbus. He pitched five innings at shortstop and collected a single in two at-bats.
Mauricio Dubón he did a great job as a fill-in shortstop in Kim’s absence. Dubón has carved out a solid career as a reliever and should return to a multi-position role by mid-May. The Braves don’t tend to play matchups very often, but they’ll get Kim back into action easily. Dubón could also take some work in left field, there Mike Yastrzemski he’s one of the few Atlanta players who hasn’t gotten off to a good start.
