Everything the Atlanta Braves Said About Spencer Strider's Elbow

Atlanta Braves fans are bracing for the worst after news of a pending MRI

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider is scheduled for an MRI on Saturday after complaining of elbow "discomfort" / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves are going to be hoping for the best.

Immediately after leaving an abbreviated four inning outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Spencer Strider complained to the training staff about "discomfort" in his elbow, per manager Brian Snitker.

Here's everything that Brian Snitker said about Strider's issues and what the Braves are planning to do:

Q: "You think that this was just one of those nights for him? I know his velo was down a little bit."

A: "Yeah, well, yeah I thought this was one of those nights and he came in and he was complaining about his elbow, so he's going to get an MRI in the morning and find out what's going on."

Q: "Was it just barking? Have you heard from George?" (Refers to George Poulis, the team's head athletic trainer)

A: "No, this is how I know he's going to have it checked out. He didn't - he was kind of uncomfortable with how he was feeling so they examined him here and they're going to get more - an MRI - done tomorrow.

Q: "Was it early in the game, or late?"

A: "No, I just think it might have been just throughout the game, I don't know. I wasn't in there to talk to him, so I just know - I just got the news now. Heard that when he went back, went in, he was complaining about his elbow."

"He came in and he was complaining about his elbow. He is going to get a MRI in the morning and we will find out what is going on."

Brian Snitker on Spencer Strider⤵️ pic.twitter.com/snC04BhUXw

— Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) April 6, 2024

From what we understand, Strider didn't say anything about the elbow until after his outing was complete, and then took his complaint directly to head athletic trainer George Poulis rather than the coaching staff or his teammates.

There was nothing, other than marginally lowered velocity, to alert the coaching staff that something was physically wrong with Strider so that they could proactively remove him from the game and/or have the medical staff examine him to determine if he was healthy enough to continue.

Strider had Tommy John surgery in 2019 while at Clemson University. If the worst-case scenario is true and he does need a second Tommy John surgery, he'd be facing an uphill battle to return to his dominating form. Not many pitchers are able to return to competitive action from a 2nd Tommy John surgery, and the ones that do often aren't as good as they were before the procedure.

But this could be as simple as "just" elbow discomfort - hopefully the MRI on Saturday will provide some more answers.