Braves Make Major Rotation Decision Involving Bryce Elder, Reynaldo López

The decision is not performance-related, and the Atlanta Braves' starter has been battling an ailment for at least a few weeks now

Elder will be in a role he's unfamiliar with in the majors | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bryce Elder will have to wait to see when his next start will be. Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss told the media on Monday that he would be moved to the bullpen temporarily. In the meantime, Reynaldo López, who is set to come off the 15-day injured list, will pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, which is officially listed right now as TBD.

Weiss added that Elder's knee was still troubling him, contributing to the decision. The earliest his next start could be is next week, when they face the Cubs in Chicago.

Elder has been battling this knee ailment for some time. The first time that it was acknowledged was on Aug. 16 after his start against the Diamondbacks. His start was cut short out of precaution. His following start saw him get eight days of rest in between. Now, he's going to pitch out of the bullpen to stay healthy.

It's clear that it's not bad enough that he doesn't have to go on the injured list, at least yet. That being said, it's still causing enough trouble that they have to be careful will his pitch and innings count.

Elder had expressed frustrations f ollowing his last start. He felt he wasn't as effective. There was no mention of his knee, but there is a chance that played a role. Much of the damage he allowed came later in the game during an unravel.

The right-hander has one career relief outing in the major leagues. It came on Aug. 6, 2022, during the top half of a doubleheader with the New York Mets.

So far this season, he has a 4.11 ERA across 149 innings pitched. Only Chris Sale has more innings with 150. For much of the season, he was the innings leader, and he led the team last year as well with 156 1/3 innings.

Once one of the most reliable arms from an availability standpoint can still be that. It will just potentially be as a reliever for a bit. We'll see if and when he comes out of the bullpen and if he is back in the rotation as soon as they hope he can be.

The Braves, especially with López returning, have the flexibility to make this call. They can still have a six-man rotation and an eight-arm bullpen. Chris Sale, Tyler Mahle, Reynaldo López, Grant Holmes, Martín Pérez and AJ Smith-Shawver are all currently part of the rotation.

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