Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz was officially ruled out for what would’ve been his first opening-day start. The All-Star right-hander has been limited to one outing due to elbow discomfort this spring training.
Foltynewicz is coming off the best year of his career, in which he went 13-10 with a 2.85 ERA and 202 strikeouts. He took the mantle as the Braves’ ace, starting two postseason games, and would’ve gotten the nod for opening day later this month in Philadelphia.
The Braves don’t expect Foltynewicz to miss significant time, but they’re still sorting out his throwing schedule. He could return the second week of the season, but the delay could cost him, at most, a few starts.
“Folty is the one guy that building him up as a starter, he’s not going to be ready,” general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. “We’re mapping out his throwing program this morning (Monday), in terms of bullpens, live BPs, all those things. We’re just trying to figure out at what point we get him up to five innings. So he’s getting close to throwing off a mound here. He feels great.
“The injury was about two weeks ago. So he’s not that far removed from throwing but we want to be careful how we build him up. If he’s going to come back as a reliever (hypothetically), he could be ready to go for the first series. Right now, the way it’s trending, it’s going to take a little bit of time in the season to get him stretched out to start.”
Early off-days play in the Braves’ favor. It allows them to use a four-man rotation in the early going, and they like their starter depth enough not to feel urgency to rush Foltynewicz back. Sean Newcomb, Julio Teheran and Kevin Gausman are locked into the rotation, with a parade of prospects behind them.
“Once we start getting (Foltynewicz) in games, getting stretched out, the we’ll have a better sense of when he can make a start for us,” Anthopoulos said.
