The Braves got a dose of optimism Monday on two injured starters, but manager Walt Weiss made clear there’s a long road ahead before either Spencer Strider or Hurston Waldrep can be counted on again.
Both pitchers are set to begin throwing programs this week, Weiss said, a sign that each is moving in the right direction after separate arm injuries. Still, Weiss stopped well short of suggesting either one is a sure thing to return before the season ends.
“I don’t think you count on that,” Weiss said Monday. “It’s great that we’re even talking about it at this point because I’m sure most of us had probably written that off, so the fact that it’s even a conversation is a positive thing.”
Strider hasn’t pitched for Atlanta since June 12 in New York against the Mets, when his velocity dropped and he was removed from the game. He went on the injured list the next day with right shoulder inflammation.
Since then, he hasn’t been around the clubhouse, and his locker was cleared out when the second half of the season began. Before the injury, Strider had a 5.31 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 39 innings.
Weiss emphasized that starting to throw is only the first step in a much longer process.
“It’s a big leap between starting a throwing progression and pitching on a major-league mound in a major-league game,” Weiss said of Strider.
Waldrep’s path back has been even more complicated. He was pulled from his July 19 start with Triple-A Gwinnett because of right arm discomfort and has since gotten opinions from multiple medical experts.
It’s also been a stop-start season for him from the beginning. Waldrep underwent elbow surgery in February to remove loose bodies, didn’t make his Braves debut until June 26, and then allowed 10 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings across three appearances, two of them starts.
He was optioned to Triple-A on July 10 and landed on the Stripers’ injured list on July 21.
Even with those setbacks, the Braves’ rotation has held up well. Atlanta starters have posted a 2.52 ERA since the All-Star break, the best mark in the majors over that stretch.
Their season ERA sits at 3.70, sixth-best in MLB. The club also added Tyler Mahle at the trade deadline, and he made an immediate impact Friday at Yankee Stadium, striking out nine over six scoreless innings in his debut.
There was one more injury update from Weiss: reliever Robert Suárez has not started any throwing program since going on the injured list on June 26.
That leaves the Braves’ bullpen in a rougher spot than the rotation. The unit has a 5.09 ERA since the All-Star break, which ranks 24th in MLB.
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