The Atlanta Braves were delivered some terrible news over the weekend as an MRI on Spencer Strider's arm showed damage to his UCL. Generally, this means that a Tommy John surgery is required, and this would end the ace's season.
Despite the bad news about Strider and the early struggles of Max Fried, the Braves are still is a pretty good spot. Ultimately, it's not time to hit the panic button on this rotation, or the prospects of this team moving forward.
"Realistically, we still have one of the best rotations in baseball," said Steakhouse producer Beau Johnson. "We have a lot of depth, and credit [Alex Anthopoulos] for adding depth."
Steak Shapiro chimed in.
"You go, Max Fried, Charlie Morton, Chis Sale, Reynaldo López, and you lean into some of your young arms," Steak said about the team surviving this early season setback.
There is an expectation that Max Fried, in his contract year, will get back on track. If Morton, López, and Sale were to continue their strong starts, the Braves would be able to trot out one of their bonafide arms who are up in Gwinnett and be just fine. Between Bryce Elder, Ian Anderson, Dylan Dodd, Huascar Ynoa, Darius Vines, and AJ Smith-Shawver, the Braves have plenty of options of guys with big-league experience on their resumes.
Additionally, the lineup remains the best in Major League Baseball, and the Braves will be able to continue leaning on it until they get their legs underneath them.
