Spencer Strider's Latest Injury Brings Poor Braves Offseason Back Into Focus

Right-hander Spencer Strider made two starts for the Atlanta Braves before landing on the injured list in 2024. This season, he lasted one time around the rotation.

The Braves placed Strider, who began the 2025 campaign on the IL still recovering from his 2024 procedure, back on the injured list Monday. Strider is now dealing with a right hamstring problem.

MLB.com's Mark Bowman reported Strider strained the hamstring while playing catch before Monday's series opener versus the St. Louis Cardinals at Truist Park.

"It was just one of those freak things," Braves manager Brian Snitker said, via Bowman. "You can do everything right and still have something happen, which he does. It's just a freak thing."

Chalk it up to more bad injury luck, which the Braves have arguably been experiencing for more than a year now. But the injury wouldn't be nearly as bad if Braves management had done "everything right" like their ace pitcher.

Strider's injury should yet again remind Braves Country that the team did absolutely nothing to address the starting rotation this offseason. While veterans Max Fried and Charlie Morton parted for more money (or in Morton's case, any kind of money) elsewhere, the Braves touted their young pitching depth of Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder, Ian Anderson, and AJ Smith-Shawver.

Holmes has made two excellent starts in a row. The other three, though, have done little to help the Braves banged up starting rotation.

Traded to the Los Angeles Angels before the regular season began, Anderson isn't on the roster anymore. Neither is Smith-Shawver, who the Braves demoted to Triple-A Gwinnett on April 13.

Elder has struggled to the tune of a 7.20 ERA.

Smith-Shawver will very likely return soon. How he performs could greatly impact how we view Atlanta's pitching depth.

But even if Smith-Shawver returns to the big leagues and dazzles, the Braves still failed. Counting on Strider coming back with no complications was always going to be risky. Management can tout his newest injury as a fluke all they want, but it's the front office's job to prepare for unusual situations.

Unlike 2024, the Braves are not prepared to overcome an extended loss of Strider. They are already without starter Reynaldo López. He underwent arthroscopic surgery and is probably out until August. López could also not return at all this season.

In the short term, the Braves will lean on their bullpen for Tuesday's game versus the Cardinals. That was Strider's next scheduled start.

With the Braves trying to extend their winning streak to five games and crawl out of their early-season hole, that's not good news. But the long-term impact of Strider's injury could be worse.

In many ways, the Braves saw Strider as the only pitching rotation addition they were going to need in 2025. But that didn't take into account the exact situation the Braves now face -- Strider sidelined again.