AJ Smith-Shawver may provide Braves with additional reliable arm
With the Major League Baseball trade deadline nearing, one of the biggest questions surrounding the Atlanta Braves has been whether they will make a push to acquire another starting pitcher to help stabilize their rotation to help them maintain their National League East lead and make a run towards a World Series win.
And while various reports have mentioned the Braves in multiple trade scenarios, including targeting Detroit Lions pitcher, Tarik Skubal, on Tuesday, MLB.com writer, Mark Bowman, reported Atlanta would see the return of AJ Smith-Shawver, who suffered a torn UCL in his left elbow last May, would be named the starter for Atlanta’s Game 1 matchup of a double-header with the New York Mets on Wednesday.
“I expected him around now. Does that mean tomorrow? No, not necessarily but next week I was starting to think that AJ Smith-Shawver was going to factor into Braves’ pitching plans as we got into the month of August,” 92-9 The Game’s Braves’ insider, Grant McAuley said as he joined Carl Dukes and Mike Bell to react to reports of Smith-Shawver’s return and the impact he could have for Atlanta’s pitching rotation.
“I’m assuming that they felt good enough about an 86 pitch rehab assignment outing last time out on the 23rd [of July] to know that least he could throw your 85 to 90 pitches that you’re going to need out of a start and you’re hoping to get five to six innings out of him,” McAuley said of Smith-Shawver. “They will need to be careful with him obviously. He’s not going to be a guy that’s going to go out and just throw seven innings every time,” McAuley said.Braves reportedly to start AJ Smith-Shawver for double-header vs Mets
Braves reportedly to start AJ Smith-Shawver for double-header vs Mets
