While their luck has been better than the last couple of years, the Atlanta Braves have not been immune to the injury scourge in 2026. In addition to Spencer Strider suffering an oblique injury in the closing days of camp, they were already dealing with Sean Murphy working his way back from hip surgery, as well as arm injuries to Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep. In short, Atlanta had had anything but an easy road so far.
As a result, it is remarkable that the Braves have played as well as they have despite not being at full strength and not getting peak Ronald Acuña Jr. yet. That should scare the rest of the league because, after Walt Weiss gave a ton of updates to the media before Tuesday night's matchup against the Tigers, it is clear that Atlanta is getting significantly closer to being at full strength.
Updates via Walt Weiss:
— Chad Bishop (@MrChadBishop) April 28, 2026
• Strider’s next starts will be with the Braves (possibly in Colorado)
• Waldrep should start throwing next week
• Iglesias has resumed throwing
• Murphy also likely to return to the club soon
Walt Weiss gave updates on Hurston Waldrep, Sean Murphy, and Spencer Strider that fans have longed for
We'll start with the "bad" news first, that Schwellenbach is not throwing yet. Given that Schwellenbach had surgery to remove bone spurs, it is not a surprise that he isn't that far along, but knowing that he isn't throwing kills any hope that he would return before the end of the first half. Weiss did say, however, that the team is still hopeful that he can return at some point in the second half.
The rest of the news was almost universally positive. Murphy is going to remain on rehab assignment for a few more days before being activated, Raisel Iglesias is throwing again, and Waldrep has begun throwing again after his elbow cleanup procedure. Strider's next start is extremely likely to be for the Braves against the Rockies. Nothing earth-shattering, but great news for a team that has suffered more than their fair share of injury issues in recent years.
With all of these guys coming back soon, Atlanta is going to have their hands full managing the roster without losing the depth that helped them get to this point. That is a problem for another day. For now, it is just nice to see the Braves looking like the team fans hoped to see when the 2026 season got underway.
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