rewrite this title Braves ace lands on IL less than a week after season debut

The Braves announced that right-hander Spencer Strider has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 18, with a strained right hamstring. Fellow righty Michael Petersen has been recalled to take his spot on the roster.

Strider just came off the IL less than a week ago. He had spent just over a year recovering from UCL surgery. He made one start, tossing five innings against the Blue Jays. He was scheduled to take the ball again Tuesday against the Cardinals. According to David O’Brien of The Athletic and Mark Bowman of MLB.com, he just suffered the injury while playing catch within the past hour. He then told the club that he wouldn’t be able to make his start.

At this point, there’s nothing to indicate this will be a significant absence, but it’s the latest speed bump in what has already been a frustrating season for Atlanta fans. The 2025 campaign has gotten off to a terrible start. There was at least a bit of momentum recently, with Strider’s return and the club sweeping the Twins over the weekend. But those three victories still leave the club in last place in the National League East with an 8-13 record.

Now, Strider is going to miss at least a couple of turns through the rotation, meaning the club will have to quickly pivot in terms of their plans. Spencer Schwellenbach is taking the ball tonight. Bryce Elder is scheduled to pitch on Wednesday on regular rest. Bumping Elder up to Tuesday to take Strider’s spot would mean pitching on short rest. Chris Sale and Grant Holmes are lined up to follow Elder.

Reynaldo López is also on the injured list and won’t be back anytime soon, as he’s going to be shut down until July. Ian Anderson was traded to the Angels just prior to Opening Day, with José Suarez coming back in return. Suarez himself was designated for assignment Sunday night when the club acquired reliever Scott Blewett.

AJ Smith-Shawver was with the big league club earlier this year, but he just tossed 5 2/3 innings at Triple-A on Friday, meaning he would have to pitch on short rest to take the ball Tuesday. Hurston Waldrep threw five innings on Saturday, meaning he shouldn’t be available. Davis Daniel logged five innings Sunday. Dylan Dodd has been pitching in relief in the minors, but he does have some starting experience. Zach Thompson was up with the club as a long relief guy earlier this year. He pitched in Triple-A Sunday, but only two innings, so perhaps he’ll have some availability for Tuesday.

That will be a short-term challenge, as the club is off on Thursday. If they want to get Smith-Shawver or any of those other pitchers into the mix, they should be able to do it by this weekend. Still, it’s a less-than-ideal development for the club at this stage. As mentioned, they have dug themselves into a bit of a hole in the early going. They have some work to do in order to get back into the mix in the coming months. Strider is one of the most dominant pitchers in the league at his best and was hopefully going to stabilize the rotation in the absence of López. That might still happen, but will now have to wait for a couple of weeks, or perhaps longer.