The Atlanta Braves really needed to handle business against the Nationals at home this week. For whatever reason, the Braves are terrible on the road this year and with a road trip coming up, banking some wins seems like a good idea. Thankfully, not only did the Braves secure a series win over Washington on Thursday, but we also got a great update on Spencer Strider's return timeline.
Getting Strider back on the mound has been high on fans priority list for a while now, but it has been a slow process. He did finally come back from his elbow surgery rehab for one start, but immediately had to go back on the injured list with a hamstring strain that he suffered while playing catch.
Thankfully, fans won't have to wait long as the Braves revealed Strider will come off the injured list and start in Atlanta's upcoming series at Washington that starts early next week.
#Braves’ Spencer Strider will come off the IL and make a start in the three-game series at Washington that begins Monday.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) May 15, 2025
Spencer Strider slated to come off IL and start against Nationals next week
All signs had been pointing towards Strider returning soon as his bullpens and sim game went well despite some velo concerns. There was a chance that the Braves would send him out for a short rehab stint at Gwinnett given how long he has been out, but Atlanta clearly thinks he has checked all the boxes he needs to in order to come back even if they are not sure which game he will end up starting in that series.
The question now is what roster move the Braves will make to accommodate Strider's return. AJ Smith-Shawver has been lights out since coming back up, Bryce Elder continues to defy logic and put up good results, and the Braves seem to be keen on keeping Grant Holmes around. The easiest solution would be to move Holmes to the bullpen and shed an underperforming bullpen arm, but a lot of options are on the table.
The one thing we KNOW the Braves are not going to do is go to a six man rotation. Manager Brian Snitker was clear during the same media scrum that with the scheduled off days coming up, using a six-man rotation would mess with guys' routines too much to implement right now.