Braves’ pitcher Bryce Elder will be placed on the injured list after having knee surgery, Braves manager Walt Weiss said Tuesday.
Weiss said Elder flew from Philadelphia, where the Braves finished a four-game series with the Giants, on Monday to Dallas. There, he had a procedure done Tuesday to have bone fragments removed that have been causing discomfort in his right knee.
Elder’s recovery is supposed to last 3-4 weeks. The Braves (85-69) have just 18 games and three weeks remaining in the regular season.
“He felt like that this was his best chance to maybe be a factor in the postseason,” Weiss said, “because the other way, he probably wasn’t going to. He downplayed it; it’s just the way athletes think. He thought he could pitch through it and he’s been dealing with it. He tried to fight through it and he got to a point where he couldn’t really do it anymore.”
Elder was 3-2 with a 4.29 ERA since a July 9 start in Pittsburgh, when he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he first felt discomfort in his knee. The Braves skipped his turn in the rotation once in July and once in August in an attempt to give him more rest in hopes the knee issue wouldn’t become too serious.
Elder’s last start was Aug. 31 against the Giants. He allowed five earned runs — and two homers — on eight hits and walked three in a loss to the Giants at Truist Park. That may turn out to be his final appearance of 2026.
“There’s a chance (he pitches in the postseason),” Weiss said. “This was the only way it was probably gonna happen if he had the surgery immediately to give him enough time to possibly make that happen.”
The Braves will place Elder on the 15-day injured list Wednesday when they activate Reynaldo López from his rehab assignment. Thus, López will take Elder’s spot in the team’s six-man rotation that includes Chris Sale, Tyler Mahle, Grant Holmes, AJ Smith-Shawver and Martín Pérez.
Elder (8-8) was having a solid season for the Braves, going 8-8 with a 4.11 ERA and 1.268 WHIP. Through his first 11 starts this season, the 27-year-old had a 1.97 ERA and had struck out 60 hitters in 68 2/3 innings.