The Braves gave no update on Jonny Venters’ left elbow injury Monday after his visit with Dr. James Andrews, but a person with knowledge of the situation said it was undetermined whether the relief pitcher would have surgery.
Venters was examined by Andrews on Monday morning in Pensacola, Fla.
The left-hander has been a key part of a bullpen rated among baseball’s best. Venters, 28, had 230 appearances in his first three seasons including a majors-leading 85 in 2011, when he had a 1.84 ERA and limited hitters to a .176 batting average.
Since the beginning of the 2010 season, Sean Marshall (231) is the only major league pitcher with more appearances than Venters. Among all relievers in that period, Venters is third in innings (229-2/3), fourth in strikeouts (258), second in walks (110), and ninth in ERA (2.23).
He had a career-high 3.22 ERA in 66 appearances last season, but pitched much better after returning from a stint on the DL for elbow inflammation.
After posting a 1.80 ERA in his first 173 career appearances through April 30, 2012, Venters had a 6.08 ERA in 31 appearances from May 1 through July 4. After returning from the DL July 22, he had a 1.71 ERA in 26 appearances.
