Braves Activate Strider for Season Debut, Option Reliever to Triple-A

The Atlanta Braves get an awaited reinforcement to the starting rotation. The team announced Sunday morning that they have activated Spencer Strider from the injured list. Relief pitcher Hunter Stratton has been optioned to Triple-A to clear a space on the active roster.

Strider has been scheduled to start Sunday’s series finale out in Denver against the Colorado Rockies. Manager Walt Weiss said this was the target date earlier this week if all went to plan. Nothing appears to have gotten in the way, and everything is a go.

Stratton pitched a scoreless inning for the Braves Saturday night. He allowed a base hit and picked up a strikeout. Since he's a pitcher with options, he was the easiest to send down. The Braves recalled him and Anthony Molina on Friday to aid the staff in Colorado. Both have since been optioned.

All updates haven't been positive for the Braves on Sunday. While they got Strider back, they placed Ronald Acuña Jr. on the injured list with a strained left hamstring.

Strider last pitched on April 26 with Triple-A Gwinnett. He stretched out to 82 pitches and was on the mound into the sixth inning. It's possible he could go beyond that in his return, but we'll have to see.

That gave him three rehab starts under his belt, and all aligned with the projected timeline that was given for him. During his rehab assignment, he had a 1.42 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP and 18 strikeouts across 12 2/3 innings.

Ahead of his final spring training start, Strider was scratched due to an oblique injury.

As of now, the Braves' rotation is on a series-to-series basis. Some arms will remain starting pitchers, but some could potentially come out of the bullpen, such as Martín Pérez. Reynaldo López is currently pitching out of the bullpen as well.

Knowing that Strider was returning likely played a role in this approach, too. It gave them some flexibility to slide him back into the starting role.

At the time of his return, the current starting pitchers include him, Chris Sale, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder, Pérez and JR Ritchie. With Ritchie up in the show and Strider back to full health, Pérez would likely resume his long-relief role, with the occasional start.

Another veteram arm who can give the team innings, who is currently on the active roster, is Carlos Carrasco. He was selected Friday mornin g, his second time this season being added to the big league team.

The Braves are set to face the Rockies on Sunday for a 3:10 p.m. EDT (1:10 p.m. CDT, local time) first pitch.

Sign up for our free newsletter for the latest Atlanta Braves news

Add us as a preferred source on Google