Gavin Floyd continues to progress in his minor league rehabilitation coming off Tommy John surgery and could be one start from leaving the Braves with a dilemma – what to do when he’s ready to return.
Floyd pitched 5 1/3 innings Thursday night for Triple-A Gwinnett, allowing two runs on five hits, including a home run, with three walks and one strikeout.
Floyd threw 86 pitches, 54 of them for strikes. Floyd is scheduled to make at least one more start with Gwinnett on Tuesday in Toledo, with a goal of reaching 100 pitches.
“That was a big plus getting into the sixth inning, getting up and down six times, and recovering well,” Floyd said Friday afternoon. “(The arm) feels real good. Today I feel normal soreness, back in the (scapula muscle) area, but the elbow feels great, shoulder feels good, body feels good. Just excited. So hopefully go 100 next time and see what happens.”
Floyd is 0-2 with a 4.74 ERA in 19 innings over five rehab outings. Without him, Braves starters had a majors-leading 1.50 ERA through the first 21 games of the season, entering the weekend series against the Reds.
“Those things have always taken care of themselves,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “I’m not going to worry about it until that time comes.”
That time will likely be about May 2nd or 3rd, with the idea that Floyd would be available as early as May 4, the last day of the Giants series.
“There are still about seven more days to play until that happens, so we’ll see what happens,” Gonzalez said.
