The Atlanta Braves opened spring training with more bad news on the pitching front. Spencer Schwellenbach has been placed on the 60-day injured list with inflammation in his right elbow, according to MLB Trade Rumors.
The team’s hoping it’s just bone spurs and nothing more serious for the 25-year-old right-hander. But this is exactly what the Braves didn’t need after injuries already decimated their rotation in 2025.
What makes this particularly tough is that Atlanta knew they needed another starter this winter. GM Alex Anthopoulos was pretty clear about what he wanted – someone who could actually help in October.
“We’ve explored the starting rotation, adding and getting some type of starter, whether that’s a trade or signing. We’d like for it to be someone impactful, someone we think can start a playoff game,” Anthopoulos said.
That was the plan, anyway. Now the Braves are looking at being without two starters for at least the first half of the season, and they still haven’t made that big move Anthopoulos was talking about.
So what’s the holdup? Ken Rosenthal thinks he knows.
“They feel, perhaps, that Bryce Elder can hold this down in a way that at least buys them some time,” Rosenthal said on Foul Territory.
That’s a lot of faith to put in Bryce Elder, who wasn’t even guaranteed a rotation spot coming into camp. Now he’s being counted on to steady things while Hurston Waldrep and Schwellenbach recover.
Elder’s going to face serious pressure right out of the gate. After struggling through 2025, he needs to prove he can be more than a placeholder. The organization’s public confidence in him might help, but he’ll need to back it up on the mound.
From where I’m sitting, this feels like a calculated risk that could backfire quickly if Elder can’t handle the load. The Braves might be betting that their injured starters return sooner rather than later, but that’s not exactly a strategy you want to hang your season on.
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