ATLANTA -- Spencer Strider had hoped to be activated from the injured list this week. But the Braves have decided he will throw in a simulated game before they determine whether he's ready to be activated from the injured list.
Strider will throw five innings, approximately 70-75 pitches, in a simulated game before Wednesday night's game against the Nationals. The Braves will evaluate the session and his recovery before determining whether he could be activated to make a start during next week's series at Nationals Park.
“I feel good about my chances to give us a chance to win if I’m out there,” Strider said Sunday, one day before the team announced its plan. “But it’s not up to me.”
Strider’s strained right hamstring felt good during a 40-plus-pitch side session on Saturday, but he hasn’t pitched in a game since making his return from right elbow surgery on April 16. He threw 97 pitches (58 strikes) over five innings that day in Toronto, but then he tweaked his hamstring five days later while playing catch the day before his scheduled start against the Cardinals.
Atlanta had to consider the fact that Strider hasn’t pitched in more than three weeks. Could he last at least five innings? If not, what kind of damaging domino effect could this have on the bullpen?
“I feel good to go, but admittedly, I haven’t pitched in three weeks,” Strider said on Sunday. “So, I won’t be shocked if they don’t feel comfortable running me out there. I’ve made my availability known. Beyond that, it’s up to them.”
The Braves look forward to putting Strider back in their rotation on a consistent basis. The right-hander led MLB in strikeouts from 2022-23 and was considered a legit Cy Young Award candidate before suffering a season-ending right elbow injury during his second start of the 2024 season.
Strider needed just 12 months to recover after an internal brace was inserted to repair his damaged ulnar collateral ligament. His speedy recovery from this hamstring ailment was aided by a platelet-poor plasma injection he received on April 23, two days after tweaking his hamstring while playing catch from a distance of 70 feet.