Atlanta Braves fans are understandably sick of all of the injuries the team has had to deal with over the last few years. After losing their entire Opening Day rotation to various injuries in 2025, it is actually easier to name the players who haven't missed significant time since the start of 2024. Unfortunately, that list of banged-up Braves just got a little bit longer.
The Braves were already stretched pretty thin on the starting pitching side down at spring training. Injuries to Hurston Waldrep and Spencer Schwellenbach basically took away any rotation depth Atlanta had entering camp. However, that was seen as a boon to the roster chances of the arms without minor league options, including Bryce Elder and Joey Wentz.
The bad news is that Elder was terrible in his last outing and did little to assuage the fears of Braves fans who have grown weary of his starts over the last couple of years. The worst news is that in that same spring training game, Wentz had to be carted off with a knee injury. There was hope that the Braves had dodged the worst after Wentz walked under his own power into the clubhouse, but Monday brought the unfortunate news that Wentz has a torn ACL and is going to be out for quite a while.
Braves lose another pitcher after Joey Wentz suffers a torn ACL
Braves fans are likely familiar with the lengthy return timeline from torn ACLs, given that Ronald Acuña Jr. has dealt with a pair of them over the last few years. While knee injuries are a little bit different for pitchers in a similar way to how Tommy John surgery isn't quite as severe for hitters, it is hard to imagine Wentz taking the mound for the foreseeable future.
If the Braves have one thing going for them, it is that they have gotten some strong performances from other arms in camp. Grant Holmes and Reynaldo Lopez were both question marks after dealing with injuries last year, and they have looked strong. JR Ritchie is having a really nice spring so far, and Didier Fuentes, after a tough MLB debut last year, seems to have unlocked some added velocity. While Wentz had an inside track to a roster spot, Atlanta does have some options at their disposal.
Of course, that is only true for now. If the Braves have another arm go down or take steps backward as the length of their appearances goes up towards the end of spring training, they don't have much room for error at all. It is a brutal reality to be faced with, but that isn't anything new for the Braves lately.