By now, Atlanta Braves fans had long abandoned hope that AJ Smith-Shawver will come back anytime soon. Based on all the reporting around his injury, surgery was inevitable and it was just a matter of what type surgery he would need before a return timeline for AJSS could even be guessed. However, everyone involved had been very cagey as to whether he would need full Tommy John surgery or if he could get away with an internal brace procedure.
Well, we now know exactly what we are dealing with. According to a release from the Braves on Monday, Smith-Shawver did undergo Tommy John surgery and that means we won't see him again on the mound for quite a long time.
AJ Smith-Shawver just had Tommy John surgery, return timeline now much more clear
This is just an absolute shame. Smith-Shawver seems like a great dude and had come out so strong this season for a Braves team that needed guys to step up. Through nine starts, Smith-Shawver posted a 3.86 ERA and a lot of the damage against him was actually done in one start on May 22 where he gave up seven runs in three innings of work. Before that, it was looking like we could have had a two-horse race for Rookie of the Year between Smith-Shawver and Drake Baldwin.
Had Smith-Shawver's UCL injury been able to get away with an internal brace, there was a very decent chance that he would return next season. Unfortunately, true Tommy John surgery requires a longer rehab. Based on the timing of the surgery, there is chance that Smith-Shawver could return late in the 2026 season. However, it is significantly more likely that he won't be ready until the beginning of the 2027 season.
At this point, things cannot go much worse for the Braves than they are right now. While the news on AJ Smith-Shawver wasn't unexpected per se, it is just another example of a situation where nothing is going right for the Braves in 2025.