Spencer Schwellenbach on a 2026 return to the Braves: ‘That’s the goal’
Why, pray tell, was Spencer Schwellenbach on the Braves’ latest road trip? Quite simply, he just wanted to get away.
And it worked out that the second leg of the Braves’ six-game road trip included a weekend stop in Cincinnati, which is just five hours south of his hometown of Saginaw, Michigan. That allowed for some of Schwellenbach’s family to visit the 26-year-old right-hander, who is inching his way back to a return to the mound.
“We were just waiting for the bone to fully heal. Got the green light (in early May) to start going, and just kind of working through the progressions now with throwing at 75 feet,” Schwellenbach told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Everything feels really good and just trying to keep on building from there.”
Schwellenbach was placed on the 60-day injured list Feb. 10 as the Braves were opening spring training. There were bone spurs in his right elbow, which had a small fracture in it in June 2025.
Another surgery was on the docket for a pitcher the Braves thought would be a part of their starting rotation this season.
Schwellenbach credited his wife with being the foundation of support he has needed while recovering from this latest injury. He said he tries to keep things in perspective.
“I’m pretty fortunate to be in the big leagues and try to tell myself that all the time,” he added. “There’s obviously worse things I could be doing. This could be in the minor leagues, or I could be doing it not at all. I’m playing the game that I love and am around guys I love, so it makes it a lot easier.”
Schwellenbach, whose birthday was Sunday, has pitched in 38 MLB games, all starts for the Braves during the 2024 and ’25 seasons. It’s a small sample size, but his electric stuff during those appearances has made him a big part of the organization’s plans.
When does that future become the present? Perhaps that’s not incredibly important right now.
Schwellenbach said he’s not concerned about trying to pinpoint an exact date when he can pitch in an MLB game again. But he hopes it’s in 2026.
“Honestly, I spent the last 11 months asking about timelines: ‘Hey, if everything goes well, what’s it gonna look like for me?’ And now I’m just kind of like, ‘Hey, what’s tomorrow look like?’” he said. “I’m trying to be as present as I can, and as long as I can keep stacking good days, then I think we’ll have a good chance to be back this year. That’s the goal.”
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