ATLANTA — Spencer Strider had an MRI on his sore elbow Saturday, and the outcomes confirmed what the Atlanta Braves feared: damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in the pitching arm of one in all baseball’s most dynamic skills.

The workforce didn’t specify the extent of the damage, however UCL tears normally require Tommy John surgical procedure.

“It wasn’t good, and you hate that — hate it for him,” Braves supervisor Brian Snitker stated of the MRI outcomes. “I feel really bad for him, a kid that does everything right. Loves to compete, and just everything. So, just wait and see what they decide to do.”

Strider, 25, already had Tommy John surgical procedure as soon as, for a torn UCL in 2019 when he was at Clemson. The Braves stated they received’t have definitive information relating to the damage and remedy till Strider meets with specialist Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, inside the subsequent few days.

Tommy John surgical procedure would finish Strider’s season and sure preserve him out till the center of the 2025 season, based mostly on rehab protocols the Braves and most different groups comply with. Though the Braves have loads of starting-pitcher depth in the minors, there can be a considerable dropoff in changing Strider, arguably essentially the most dominant beginning pitcher in baseball.

Among the candidates are Bryce Elder, who made the All-Star workforce in 2023 in his first full MLB season earlier than fading badly in the second half, and left-hander Dylan Dodd, who allowed 9 hits and two runs in 6 2/3 innings of a Triple-A recreation Friday.

“You hate to lose him like that, but we’re going to keep going and fighting hard,” Snitker stated. “It’s happened to a lot of other people, we’re not the only ones that have been bit by it this year. That’s just part of it. You deal with it. That’s why you try to acquire depth in your organization, because you know you’re going to need it. Nobody’s insulated from it, everybody goes through it. Multiple teams out there have dealt with this same thing.”

#Braves‘ Brian Snitker on rash of pitching accidents in baseball: “Well, they’re throwing more durable than ever and spinning the ball greater than ever. I don’t know. I hate it for everyone involved. That’s the most important factor now we have in our recreation, man, is the pitching.”

— David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) April 6, 2024

Although quite a few pitchers have returned to pitch successfully after a second Tommy John surgical procedure, there’s not as a lot certainty of performing on the identical stage as there may be for a pitcher getting back from a primary process.

“The way I look at it, you pray for the best,” Braves third baseman Austin Riley stated minutes earlier than listening to information of the MRI. “We don’t know nothing yet, but the way I look at is, a guy that prepares as much as he does and is so diligent about everything he does … like I said, you just hope it’s nothing crazy. Because he prepares and cares as much as anyone on this team. Hopefully it’s good — better than worse.”

Hours later, after listening to concerning the UCL damage revealed in the MRI, Riley stated, “Devastating. You don’t want to hear something like that, from a guy that works so hard and is so honed in on his craft. He cares so much. You just feel for him. He’s one of those guys that it’s unfortunate, you hate that it happens, but somebody that’s going to put in the time and the effort to get back to where he was. Just like I said, I feel for him more than anything.”

Catcher Travis d’Arnaud additionally used the phrase “devastating” to explain the information, and added, “That stinks. It stinks for us, but really stinks for him. It sucks, man. It sucks.”

Strider gave up seven hits, 5 runs and three walks with 4 strikeouts in 4 innings of a 10-inning Braves win Friday towards the Arizona Diamondbacks, and afterward informed the workforce coach that his elbow was sore.

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Although Strider appeared off Friday and his fastball velocity was down 1.3 mph from his Opening Day begin and from his common velocity in 2023, Snitker and his workers, and catcher Travis d’Arnaud, thought Strider was simply having the sort of “off” night time that even one of the best pitchers have at the very least a couple of instances most seasons.

Snitker stated the pitcher didn’t say something about his elbow throughout the 88-pitch outing.

“No, not till after,” Snitker stated. “Because I know he told somebody, ‘I didn’t go back out because they took me out of the game.’ I think if we’d have told him to go back out there, he would have went back out and kept pitching.”

The workforce was nonetheless working via logistics to arrange that appointment with Meister in Texas, but it surely was evident from Snitker’s feedback and tone that the Braves are usually not anticipating any encouraging information from the specialist. Their personal medical workers already noticed the MRI, and at this level “good news” appears unlikely.

“The good news is, he’s going to get whatever it is fixed and come back,” Snitker stated, “and continue to have a really good career.”

Strider, a fourth-round draft choose by the Braves in 2020, reached the majors after solely 22 minor-league video games, and led MLB in strikeouts and strikeout price over his first two full seasons in 2022-2023, going 31-10 with a 3.36 ERA in 63 video games, together with 52 begins in that span, with a surprising 483 strikeouts in 318 1/3 innings. He was 20-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 2023 and led the majors with an Atlanta-record 281 strikeouts in 186 2/3 innings.

Before Friday, Strider wanted simply 9 strikeouts to grow to be the quickest in MLB historical past to succeed in 500 Okay’s amongst pitchers who have been primarily starters.

(Photo: David J. Griffin / Icon Sportswire through Associated Press)