It was already bad enough that Spencer Schwellenbach went down with bone spurs in his elbow. The Atlanta Braves came into the offseason wanting more starting pitching depth, and at the start of camp, their inability to add to that depth was immediately punished by losing one of their top starters. Unfortunately, that would not be the end of the bad news for the Braves' rotation.
After looking really good at the start of camp, Hurston Waldrep is now dealing with elbow issues. As far as we know, there is no ligament damage showing up on the initial scans, which is good news, and the soreness he is experiencing right now is due to loose bits floating around in his elbow. However, Waldrep went to see Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas on Monday, and the results of those exams will tell us exactly what sort of situation the Braves find themselves in.
Hurston Waldrep's follow-up appointment could make or break the start of the Braves' 2026 season
In an ideal world, Waldrep went in to see Meister, has it confirmed that there is no ligament damage in his elbow, and he is told that the loose bodies in the elbow aren't a big deal and will improve with just some rest. Assuming that happens, Waldrep would still miss some time in the regular season, but it would just be a matter of covering a few starts.
The odds that that happens are very small, but the results of the exam still have a lot of importance. One or two loose bodies that just happened to end up in a bad spot is a much different situation than if the scan shows a bunch of bits floating around and a closer look reveals a more serious problem. In short, the range of outcomes is that Waldrep could be out for a matter of weeks, or he could be out for the entire season.
At the moment, the Braves have a strong duo at the top of their rotation in Chris Sale and Spencer Strider, but the rest of the starting pitching staff looks pretty sketchy now. Schwellenbach is out, Waldrep is likely to miss time, and most of the remaining names either have some very real injury concerns (Reynaldo Lopez and Grant Holmes) and/or have questions about how viable it is to play them in a major league rotation (Bryce Elder, Joey Wentz, JR Ritchie, Martin Perez).
That is not where you want to be at the start of spring training, but at least the Braves have time to either add another arm or see if they can have some guys step up in camp.