The Braves could have called up another pitcher to take Spencer Strider’s roster spot on Saturday, but they opted to wait until Sunday.
The move: They recalled right-hander Allan Winans as they officially placed Strider on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow UCL sprain.
On Saturday, the Braves said Strider’s MRI revealed damage to the UCL in his right elbow. He’ll see Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, to learn if he needs a second Tommy John surgery.
He’ll be out much longer than 15 days, but the injured-list designation was a formality. The Braves might have lost Strider for the season.
In his first and only start of the Triple-A season, Winans allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five batters and walked one.
Winans made his MLB debut for the Braves last season. Eventually, he posted a 5.29 ERA over 32 1/3 innings.
Over the offseason, Winans tried to be more professional with taking care of his body. He wanted to put on more weight.
Winans worked with a personal trainer three times per week.
“He was holding me accountable,” Winans said. “I’m weighing in every time I go to work out.”
In addition to focusing on getting stronger in the correct areas, Winans ate more. He’s a thin guy, so he has more margin for error than others, but he prioritized getting enough calories, carbs and more.
Winans dealt with a back issue toward the end of last season, so he wasn’t working out regularly. He ended last season at 172 pounds, and entered this spring at 185 pounds.
Does he notice his offseason work paying off?
“Totally, yeah,” Winans said. “I think being able to get into positions a little better. Obviously we’re throwers of the baseball, so we gotta put our bodies in certain positions, and I think just being strong enough to stay in those positions has been really beneficial for me.”
Strider’s spot in the rotation comes around on Wednesday versus the Mets at Truist Park. It seems like the plan might be for Winans to start that game if the Braves don’t need to use him out of the bullpen on Monday or Tuesday.
But the Braves have other options. Dylan Dodd pitched on Friday for Triple-A Gwinnett, so he’d line up. The Braves also could opt for Darius Vines, who started for Gwinnett on Thursday and could face the Mets on extra rest.
Starters for the Mets series
Speaking of starting pitching, the Braves listed Wednesday as “TBD” in their game notes. They’ll decide on that in the coming days.
But this is how the pitching lines up for the upcoming four-game series against New York: Charlie Morton on Monday, Reynaldo López on Tuesday and Max Fried on Thursday.
The Mets are expected to start Julio Teheran, the former Brave, in the series opener.
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