Spencer Strider hits IL after scary velocity dip in big Braves concern: Doesnt look great

Injuries and ineffectiveness continue to plague a former ace.Braves righty Spencer Strider landed on the IL on Saturday with right elbow inflammation, the team announced, one day after allowing seven runs in three-plus innings to the Mets in a 7-5 loss.Strider had been slated for an MRI on Friday and exited after a noticeable dip in velocity.This is his second stint on the injured list this year, and he exits the 26-man roster with a 5.31 ERA.“It doesn’t look great as we stand here, right now,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said Friday night, according to MLB.com.Strider exited Friday’s game with right arm soreness after walking the leadoff batter in the fourth inning, having already allowed six runs at that point.While his velocity has dipped since over the past two years, Strider averaged a single-game career-low 93.7 mph with his four-seam fastball Friday.“(Strider) talked about how his shoulder and elbow weren’t feeling very good.

And he wasn’t even aware of the drop in velocity,” Weiss told reporters, per MLB.com.“(When we got out there to the mound), he said, ‘What is it?’ Yeah, at that point, there’s no point to go on.”This is the latest blow in a rough three-season stretch for a pitcher who had once been one of the sport’s premier fireballers.Strider went 32-10 with a 3.37 ERA across his first three seasons from 2021-23, including a fourth-place finish in NL Cy Young voting in 2023.He needed Tommy John surgery after just two starts in 2024, and he returned last year to make 23 starts.His fastball dipped from 97.2 mph in 2023 to 95.5 mph in 2025, per Baseball Savant, resulting in a dip from his league-leading 13.5 strikeouts-per-nine-innings mark in 2023 to 9.4.Strider posted a 4.45 ERA, his worst ERA for any full season.This season began with Strider opening the year on the injured list after suffering a left oblique muscle strain, and he provided eight overall ineffective starts after returning.The team recalled Anthony Molina to f...