The Atlanta Braves are going to yet again be without Spencer Strider for a time as the right-hander is currently on the IL with elbow inflammation. While the initial report indicates the starter won't need surgery, this does little to lessen the frustration around a player the Braves bet on expecting to become an incredibly important piece of the franchise, moving forward. With Max Fried departing to the New York Yankees, it was expected that Strider would step in and become the team's ace.
Even Chris Sale named Strider the best pitcher on the team a season ago, speaking to the respect the veteran had for Strider's talent. While more than a year later this clearly isn't the case, it speaks to the expectations of a player who cannot stay healthy and, when on the mound, has shown lessened velocity and a concerning tendency to give up home runs.
It is important to note that no one wants things to improve more than Strider himself. Dating back to last season, the starter has taken his failures on the chin and made it clear that the expectation is for him to be better. Still, this doesn't erase the frustration for a fanbase that remembers the 2022 season and what was the expectation moving forward.
Braves Can't Hide Frustration as Spencer Strider is Walking Obvious Career Path
Back in the 2022 season, Strider struck out 202 hitters in 131.2 innings pitched, turning this number up to 281 strikeouts the following year. Strider appeared to be one of the game's most talented arms and a pitcher that would anchor the top of the rotation for years to come. Fast forward three seasons, and it is the ghost of the player Strider once was anytime the starter takes the mound.
Braves fans are reduced to holding onto hope that the starter can find a way to piece a healthy season together and give just half of what he once was. Something that appears unlikely to happen this season, as Strider is now out of an unknown amount of time and offered very middling results when he was on the mound.
There simply is no way around the fact that Strider hasn't lived up to expectations, becoming a profound disappointment and source of frustration. For the Braves, the only comfort is incredible rotation depth that offers the potential returns of Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep as answers for a rotation already with no shortage of options.
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