Bryce Elder’s recovery from knee surgery has moved faster than the Braves expected, but that doesn’t mean his playoff path has changed much.
Atlanta thought earlier this month that Elder’s season was probably done after the procedure. The surgery was described as minor, but the belief was that there simply wouldn’t be enough time for him to do any rehab work before the year ended.
That picture has shifted. On Wednesday, Jesus Cano of The Athletic reported that Elder was moving well and had already gotten on a mound ahead of Atlanta’s series opener against the Reds. It’s encouraging news for Elder and it also improves his outlook for 2026, but it still does not point to a postseason start.
If Elder does pitch in October, the Braves are expected to use him out of the bullpen.
That makes sense given where things stood before the injury. Elder was already on the verge of moving into a relief role before the knee issue sidelined him.
He made 26 starts this season and finished with a 4.11 ERA, 4.61 FIP, and 1.3 bWAR, though a big chunk of that production came during a dominant April and May stretch. Because of that, his best-case postseason role is as emergency rotation help or extra bullpen depth.
He is not in line to start in the Wild Card round, which is a three-game series. If Atlanta advances to the NLDS, his chances of making the roster get better, but the rotation picture is still cloudy beyond the top two names.
The plan is for Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle to start postseason games. After that, it becomes a guessing game.
The most likely options for another start are Grant Holmes or Martin Perez, while the rest of the innings could be covered by a heavily used bullpen. That relief group got even deeper with Robert Suarez back in the mix. And if Atlanta decides to lean on higher “stuff” arms such as JR Ritchie or AJ Smith-Shawver, Elder could find himself pushed off the NLDS roster entirely.
At this point, it may take another injury among Atlanta’s postseason pitchers for Elder to become a real factor. Still, the Braves have to like the fact that he’s ahead of schedule and available if needed. An October appearance isn’t impossible - it just comes with a very clear role attached.
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