As if losing to the Mets wasn't bad enough, the Atlanta Braves suffered another gut punch with Spencer Strider's early exit from the game. His velocity dipped every inning, and after three innings, the team called it for the former flamethrower. Strider had just returned from an elbow injury, so seeing his fastball velocity drop below 90 was extremely disheartening. All fans knew after the game was that Strider left the game with right elbow soreness.
JR Ritchie stepped in to fill Strider's void Friday night, and he did an admirable job out of the bullpen. He completed the final five frames on 73 pitches. Ritchie allowed no runs on two hits with two walks (one intentional) and five strikeouts. This performance probably has him in line to fill Strider's slot in the rotation.
After the game, manager Walt Weiss mentioned Strider felt soreness in his pitching shoulder as well as his elbow. Those are not the things you want to hear from a pitcher. The Braves released a roster update Saturday morning that made the injury official. However, questions remain about the severity of the injury. Strider was placed on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation. Anthony Molina was recalled from the minors to fill the roster spot.
The #Braves today recalled RHP Anthony Molina to Atlanta and placed RHP Spencer Strider on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. Additionally, C Drake Baldwin begins a rehabilitation assignment tonight with Triple-A Gwinnett.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 13, 2026
Spencer Strider is headed for the injured list, but for exactly how long has yet to be determined
Surely Strider will get more testing back in Atlanta to check on the severity of his injury. Until then, there will be a lot of speculation around whether this could be a career-ending injury. It's hard enough for pitchers to come back from one arm injury. But to come back from multiple and be the same pitcher is almost unheard of.
The one silver lining to this tragic update is that Drake Baldwin starts his rehab assignment on Saturday with Triple-A Gwinnett. The offense needs him back in the lineup drastically. His presence has really been missed over the last couple of weeks.
The hope is that Baldwin will return to the MLB roster once the Braves return home from their current road trip. That will be a fantastic boost in morale for everyone.
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