Atlanta Braves A.J. Minter Has Season-Ending Surgery

We may have seen the last of A.J. Minter in an Atlanta Braves uniform.

Atlanta Braves pitcher A.J. Minter had season ending surgery. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves reliever A.J. Minter’s season has officially come to an end. The Braves announced the lefty will be out for the remainder of the year after undergoing left hip surgery in Nashville. 

LHP A.J. Minter today underwent left hip surgery, performed by Dr. Thomas Byrd in Nashville, TN. He will miss the remainder of the 2024 season.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 21, 2024

Just yesterday, he had been moved to the 60-Day Injured List to make room for the recently signed Gio Urshela. 

This is the second time this season he is missing significant time. He missed the month of June due to his hip. 

If not for the procedure, maybe there was some outside chance he could have re-joined the team in the postseason. His regular season was definitely over and but now that hope has also been dashed. 

His final stat line for the season in 39 appearances, Minter had a 2.62 ERA with a 1.01 WHIP and 35 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings pitched. 

With his season-ending injury, we might have seen the last of Minter in a Braves uniform. He will be an unrestricted free agent this winter. There will be suitors on the free agent market, but with his injuries, his next contract might not be the value he had hoped for. 

Minter has spent all eight seasons of his MLB career with the team that drafted him. He was a second-round pick back in 2015. So far in his career, the 30-year-old lefty has pitched in 384 games and had a 3.28 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP and 422 strikeouts over 348 2/3 innings pitched.

Minter won a World Series with the Braves in 2021. He has a career 2.88 postseason ERA. 

Fortunately for the Braves, they have bullpen options to overcome losing Minter for the rest of the season. It’s been one of the few areas where that can be said, but his absence will be felt nonetheless.