The Atlanta Braves’ nightmare season has no end in sight, and the latest blow might be too much to overcome.
Spencer Schwellenbach, who grew into an ace role with Atlanta after injuries to Spencer Strider and Chris Sale, will be out until at least September with a fracture in his right elbow.
Schwellenbach, 25, was a good bet to earn inclusion on his first All-Star team after a first half that saw him post a 3.09 ERA in 17 starts and rank third in the National League in WHIP (0.97). But Schwellenbach felt soreness after his most recent start against the Philadelphia Phillies, and imaging revealed a small fracture in his elbow.
The timing is almost too much to be believed: Atlanta’s season went sideways before April when outfielder Jurickson Profar earned an 80-game suspension for a PED violation just days into his three-year, $42 million contract. Profar’s suspension expired this week and he is set to be activated for the July 2 game against the Los Angeles Angels.
Meanwhile, Sale, the defending NL Cy Young Award winner, is out indefinitely with a fractured rib cage suffered two weeks ago. Strider completed a 12-month rehab from Tommy John elbow surgery, made one start and then missed five more weeks with a hamstring injury.
‘Sale went down,’ Schwellenbach told reporters in Atlanta, ‘and as a staff we knew we had to pick things up and now this happens and I feel horrible. I set a goal for myself to throw a bunch of innings and it just sucks.”
Add it up, and the Braves are 38-46 entering play July 2, in fourth place in the NL East and seven games behind first-place Philadelphia.
At stake: Atlanta’s seven-year streak of playoff appearances, which includes six division titles and a 2021 World Series crown. While their deficits aren’t insurmountable, their rotation thins out very quickly after Strider, with Grant Holmes bumped to the No. 2 spot and rookie Didier Fuentes – who has a 10.80 ERA in two starts – suddenly a significant piece of it. Additionally, veteran Bryce Elder is supposed to be depth, but instead has been forced to make 13 starts, posting a 5.82 ERA.
Schwellenbach was a second-round pick in 2021 by Atlanta.