Braves starter Spencer Strider shut down for four weeks

The news wasn’t as bad as it could have been for Spencer Strider. It still wasn’t great.

Strider won’t throw a baseball for four weeks, the Braves announced Monday. After Strider’s shutdown period, the right-hander will have another MRI on his elbow.

If that scan shows no significant damage, Strider can begin a throwing progression that would likely last another few weeks, the Braves said.

Best-case scenario? Strider is pitching in a meaningful baseball game in August.

Strider has already had two elbow surgeries during his pitching career, one in 2019 when he pitched for Clemson and another in 2024 when he had surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow with an internal brace procedure.

Dr. Keith Meister performed the surgery in 2024. Meister, an orthopedic and sports medicine surgeon in Arlington, Texas, also examined Strider on Monday after the 27-year-old pitcher left Friday’s start at Citi Field in New York with right elbow and right shoulder discomfort.

Strider, a former strikeout specialist and All-Star, had his fastball velocity drop to 88 mph in the fourth inning of his eighth start of the season and was removed from the game.