Story by
Braves Activate Three Pitchers From Injured List Ahead of Busy Winter
- Story by
- Braves Activate Three Pitchers From Injured List Ahead of Busy Winter
(Dale Zanine-Imagn Images)
The Atlanta Braves activated starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach, pitcher Hurston Waldrep and pitcher Joey Wentz from the 60-day injured list on Thursday, which was the same day 11 of their players elected free agency.
Starting pitcher Spencer Strider was not part of the move, since he is still listed on the 60-day injured list on the team's 40-man roster.
Advertisement
Three Pitchers With Long Roads Back
Schwellenbach has not pitched in a big-league game since he fractured his right elbow on June 28, 2025, and he needed another surgery on that same elbow this year, with a screw now placed in it.
At the end of August, it was unclear when he would throw again .
Waldrep had Tommy John surgery on Sept. 15, while Wentz missed the entire 2026 season after he tore his right ACL in a collision at first base during a Grapefruit League game on March 8.
The Braves still won the National League East at 94-68 without them, which was their seventh division title in the past nine seasons, before the Dodgers knocked them out in the NLDS.
Advertisement
Anthopoulos Is Not Making Promises
President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos was asked about Schwellenbach and Strider after the season, and he was not ready to build next year's plan around them.
"I think from a planning standpoint, I don't think it'd be responsible to sit here and say, 'OK, those guys are going to start 30 games and throw 180 innings.' So that's something we're definitely going to have to account for and talk about where we're going to get our innings for next season," Anthopoulos said in his end-of-season session with reporters .
He also said the Braves do not expect either pitcher to be a lock in the rotation with pitcher Chris Sale, and I think that is the right call.
Advertisement
Schwellenbach's last two years have been one elbow setback after another, while Strider went on the injured list in June with right elbow inflammation and was cleared to start a throwing program on Aug. 10, according to MLB.com's injury tracker , so he has his own questions to answer this spring.
There are already debates about whether Strider should even stay in Atlanta , and I see why that keeps coming up.
What Comes Next for Atlanta
Thursday's move is mostly offseason roster business, and it should not change how hard the front office shops for pitching.
Pitcher Tyler Mahle and pitcher Raisel Iglesias both elected free agency on Thursday, and the Braves have until 5 p.m. ET on Monday to make qualifying offers, though MLB.com's Mark Bowman wrote it seems unlikely the team will make the $23.15 million offer to any of its free agents.
Advertisement
Wentz is part of the next round of decisions too, since he is one of the Braves' arbitration-eligible players and the tender deadline is Nov. 20.
The General Managers Meetings are Nov. 10-12 in Las Vegas.
Young arms like prospect Ethan Bagwell are still working toward a big-league job, so I would treat any innings from Schwellenbach, Strider or Waldrep in 2027 as a bonus and go get at least one proven starter to pitch behind Sale, because a team with this many injured arms cannot afford to guess wrong on its rotation.
