Braves See Bryce Elder Undergo Surgery, Hopes for Return for Postseason

After initial hope that he could pitch out of the bullpen, the Atlanta Braves lost one of their most dependable starters to an injury

Elder reached the point where he couldn't pitch through an injury anymore | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Just like that, Bryce Elder became the latest Atlanta Braves starter who will miss some time. Manager Walt Weiss provided an update on Tuesday afternoon. Elder flew to Dallas from Philadelphia to get his right knee checked. He underwent surgery, a scope and is expected to need three to four weeks to recover.

In turn, he is expected to go on the injured list soon, and the hope is that he will be back for the postseason. This procedure, in a way, increases his chances of being available.

"And I felt like the best chance for him to be a factor in the postseason was if he got it fixed," Weiss said to the media on Tuesday. "Because the other way, he probably wasn't going to. He just, he was, and looking to credit him, right? I mean, he's really, he downplayed it. I mean, he's just the way athletes think."

Elder just reached a point where he could't fight it anymore.

He has been battling through bone fragments in his right knee. There is no structural damage in the knee. The word of him dealing with a knee issue isn't out of the blue. It was first mentioned by Weiss in mid-August following Elder's start against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Weiss said on Thursday that Elder had been pushing through this injury since the All-Star break.

On Monday, the original plan for him to miss a start and then be available out of the bullpen. Then, if all went well, he would have potentially gotten a start next week against the Cubs in Chicago. That is no longer the case.

Elder had been one of the most reliable arms in the starting rotation for the past two seasons. His156 1/3 innings in 2025 led the team, and his 149 innings this season were second behind Chris Sale's 150.

He dodged the injury bug for as long as he could, but it ultimately got him too.

Reynaldo López will be back on Wednesday to pick up a start. He'll be activated from the injured list. Coincidentally, he just recovered from an injury that cost him about five weeks of the season.

This indicated a full intention to keep the six-man rotation going down the stretch. Getting López back and stretched out as a starter helped with that.

"You know, we've talked about this," Weiss said. "That there's most likely there's a chance there's going to be an injury. Whether it's the rest of the season in September or even in October, we've seen that before with some of our pitchers. So, it's good that we have as many options as we do."

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