Braves left-hander Eric O’Flaherty landed on the 15-day disabled list with what was termed a right knee strain, and versatile rookie Ryan Weber was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett primarily for long relief.
In other health updates on the pitching front, starters Mike Foltynewicz and Williams Perez are still probably a couple of weeks from coming off the DL, with Foltynewicz (bone spurs in elbow) currently on pace to return before Perez (rotator-cuff strain).
Foltynewicz has resumed throwing and could face hitters by the end of the week, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. He was DL’d on June 4 retroactive to May 31, the day after his most recent start.
Perez was DL’d June 8 and has rested and taken anti-inflammatories since then. He’ll resume throwing this week and, like Foltynewicz, would probably have a couple of bullpen side sessions, throw batting practice and make at least one minor league rehab start before returning.
O’Flaherty, who has an 8.71 ERA and .341 opponents’ average in his past 11 appearances, said he felt something in his knee while warming up before he entered Saturday’s game against the Cubs. He pitched two innings that day, allowing four hits, three runs and a homer.
“It kind of popped when I was stretching (Saturday),” he said. “It didn’t really feel like a big deal; I pitched, I did the workout after. But it kind of swelled up that night, and when I came to the field (Sunday) it was still a little stiff, bad enough where they thought I should get an MRI.
“Got an MRI and it’s nothing major, just kind of a strain. (But) we need arms live right now. It’s not really something where the team can wait around four or five days to see how I feel, so they felt they had to make a move.”
O’Flaherty said trainers told him he should be able to resume throwing after three to five days of rest.
“But the team really can’t wait that long for me to figure it out,” said O’Flaherty, who has a 6.52 ERA and .313 opponents’ average in 27 appearances this season, including .260 (13-for-50 with a .288 OBP by left-handed hitters. “It’d be selfish of me to not go on the DL, almost….
“It’s not something that you normally want to do, but like I said, we’re in a position where we can’t really be waiting on a reliever four to five days. We’ve lost a couple of our pretty good starters the past week and a half, so it’s going to help to have Weber down there.”
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