Latest news with #Braves'
USA Today
5 hours ago
- General
- USA Today
Spencer Strider had a brutally honest take on his struggles after surgery
Spencer Strider had a brutally honest take on his struggles after surgery When Spencer Strider broke into the big leagues back in 2021 (and his subsequent rookie season in 2022), he quickly built a reputation as one of baseball's best pitchers by virtue of an electric four-seam fastball. But Strider's career arc faced a serious obstacle when he suffered an elbow injury last season, forcing him to undergo internal-brace surgery — not to be confused with Tommy John, which he already had in college. Strider is back this season, and thus far, he has looked like a shell of the Cy Young Award candidate we watched in 2023. Now, it was always going to be a work in progress, coming off elbow surgery. And that's been obvious in the significant drop in Strider's velocity. His rookie season, Strider's fastball averaged 98.2 mph. He harnessed that velocity a bit in 2023 with a 97.2 mph average, but was still able to hit triple digits when needed. This season, Strider's fastball is at 95.2 mph — in the 68th percentile among big-league pitchers. And on Tuesday, we saw that fastball dip to as low as 93 mph. Sure, there are plenty of pitchers who are effective with 93-95 mph velo, but they aren't doing this: And Strider is well aware that his approach needs to change as he can't beat hitters with his fastball velocity (at least for now). He offered reporters this brutally honest take after the Braves' 8-3 loss to Arizona where Strider allowed three home runs. Via 'Command without stuff is batting practice. That's about what I offered up today. I've got to be better, just to give us a chance.' That's exactly what Strider has been doing post-surgery. He's allowing a league-worst average exit velocity of 94 mph. His whiff rate has cratered. And on top of the velocity drop, he hasn't been consistently commanding his secondary pitches. Just look at what Ketel Marte did to an 0-2 changeup Strider left over the plate. Strider could get away with middle-middle fastballs and mistake pitches when he was throwing 100 mph. He simply can't do that right now. Could the velocity slowly come back as he continues this season or with a full offseason? Sure, it's possible. But Strider very well may be looking at a situation where he needs to reinvent himself or risk falling out as a reliable starting pitcher, much less an ace. He can't continue to approach batters like his 2023 self when the stuff isn't there. It's batting practice, like he said.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Braves' Marcell Ozuna drops truth bomb on injury battle
The post Braves' Marcell Ozuna drops truth bomb on injury battle appeared first on ClutchPoints. Amid a disappointing 27-31 start that has the Atlanta Braves stuck in fourth place in the NL East, Atlanta is back in the spotlight—but not for anything happening on the field. A stunning injury revelation from veteran slugger Marcell Ozuna has added yet another layer of concern to a season already slipping away. According to a report from The Athletic's David O'Brien, the Atlanta DH has been battling a torn right hip—an issue that had been kept under wraps until now. Advertisement Early in the season, fans noticed subtle changes in how Ozuna was used late in games. Despite his strong offensive output, the team often pulled him on the bases. The explanation, it turns out, is far more serious than simple fatigue. The 34-year-old admitted he's been pushing through a hip issue for weeks. 'I've been kind of slow because I don't want to rotate, because my hip is kind of shut down a little bit,' Ozuna said. 'I had a tear (in the) right hip, so I just … keep battling. I'm trying to help my team. That's the most important thing. I want to be in the lineup every single day, and do everything for my team.' The injury has prompted questions about the Braves lineup and overall management strategy. General Manager Alex Anthopoulos noted that while Ozuna will continue to play, he'll have to manage the injury for the rest of the season. Despite minimal rest, Ozuna continues to deliver with a .284 batting average, 10 home runs, and a .901 OPS—production that ranks among the league's top designated hitters. This situation could affect more than just game-to-game availability. With Ozuna in the final year of his deal, MLB trade rumors are heating up. If Atlanta falters further in the standings, moving their designated hitter—despite his injury—could net key prospects for a reset. Advertisement Fans and analysts are frustrated by the lack of transparency. The team first called Ozuna's injury minor inflammation. Only now has the real issue—a torn hip—been revealed. The poor communication stands out in a season already filled with setbacks for Atlanta. Jurickson Profar is suspended, and Ronald Acuña Jr. just returned on May 23rd after nearly a year recovering from a torn ACL. While the Braves continue to lean on Ozuna's bat, his health casts a long shadow over both the rest of the season and what comes next.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Alex Anthopoulos on Braves' slow start, AJ Smith-Shawver controversy, RISP woes
ATLANTA — After the Atlanta Braves announced Monday that they had demoted third-base coach Matt Tuiasosopo to minor-league infield coordinator and hired former Atlanta manager and third-base coach Fredi González to replace him, Alex Anthopoulos discussed that change as well as several other issues surrounding the struggling team. Advertisement Anthopoulos, the Braves' general manager and president of baseball operations, has seen the team sputter offensively and deal with several injuries and an 80-game PED suspension for Jurickson Profar, the only big free-agent signing they made last winter. Atlanta sits in fourth place in the NL East with a 27-31 record, 9 1/2 games behind first-place New York before the Mets' late game Monday. The Braves' run of seven consecutive postseason appearances appears in peril. Here are some of Anthopoulos' answers on a Monday night Zoom call with reporters, edited for clarity and brevity: On how he compares this sluggish start to ones the Braves had in 2021 or 2022: I look a lot at run differential and things like that. I look at expected wins and losses. Our expected won-loss record (now) is 31-27. Our actual is our actual, and I don't want to run from that. But you do have to look under the hood at times. And we've played a ton of close games. We know that. We've seen them. And I believe we're better than we've played. We're not getting blown off the field by any stretch. There's just been a lot of close games and a lot a little things that have impacted us. We love Tui, but we think Fredi González at third base, because he's such a good, accomplished third-base coach. … The fact that he was available to us and we could make this move, we feel like it's the right thing to improve the ball club. So there are other areas as well that are starting to stabilize a little bit. Look, the offense has definitely been the focus, no doubt about that, but I do think there's significant upside. And again, when I look at things like run differential relative to the NL, other teams in the division and so on, it's the same thing we cited in '21. In 2021, the Braves were 52-55 on Aug. 1, finished as NL East champions at 88-73, then won the World Series. Granted, the division wasn't as strong (in 2021), but our run differential, I believe, was above the Mets when they were in first place back then. We're not there right now. I think we're 10th in the NL, but a few games here and there, that changes pretty fast. And the one-run games and so on, I think if we'd be sitting there and playing up to our expected stats, expected won-lost record at 31-27, we still would want significantly better, but we'd feel a little better about where things stand. Advertisement So … we have four months left, right? That's a lot of baseball. And the fact that we were in August and under .500 when you talk about '21 — I mean, we're just hitting June. We're two months ahead of that. So if we can be aggressive, whether it's making changes, making trades, we're gonna do that. And I'm not wired any other way than to constantly look to find a way to do what we think can make this team better. On AJ Smith-Shawver, who has a torn UCL and will meet with surgeon Keith Meister on Thursday in Texas, with Tommy John surgery likely. Anthopoulos was asked about criticism that Spencer Strider shouldn't have needed to inform pitching coach Rick Kranitz that Smith-Shawver was having arm issues, shaking out his arm after two pitches, before manager Brian Snitker replaced him when Smith-Shawver told Snitker he felt a pop in his elbow. Yeah, I saw all that. My take on this stuff is, I've been in baseball a long time, I'd say nine times out of 10, when I've seen any pitcher have an injury, the pitcher will signal to the guy behind the plate, or the guy behind the plate will notice something, right? He's the one who has his eyes on the pitcher. The guy behind the plate has his eyes on the pitcher every single pitch. I'm not criticizing whoever that was, but 99 times out of 100, the pitcher will signal out with his glove, he'll step off, and he will signal to the bench. That's the way I've always seen it. Rarely have I seen it where the bench will jump out of nowhere and go to the mound. I have seen the catcher say something's up and jump out and do that. That's probably the only time. But preemptively, you don't see it happen very often. I understand the world we live in and so on. AJ is a human being. He has feelings. He's not two years old. He's a 22-year-old grown man. He knows what feels right, what doesn't feel right. And he's had obliques, he's had other things before. He's called guys out to the mound before. So, I know this is part of the game when things aren't going well and you're not playing well. When I was in Toronto, David Price, who we acquired in a trade-deadline deal, put a sign up above his locker, and the sign said, 'If you don't like it, pitch better.' And my view of all this stuff is if you don't like it, play better. And that's part of it. And that's just being accountable. And that's pro sports today. So I just think taking some context in all this stuff. I saw it. … They've had plenty of times that they've noticed injuries, this and that, that the catchers noticed injuries as well. So I know it can be readily apparent and so on, but I don't think it's as simple as that. On the team's struggles with runners in scoring position and anything being done to address it: I don't want to necessarily speculate. If I say, hey, it's this thing now, the focus becomes on that. Look, we haven't gotten the job done. There's no doubt. I think coming off the high of '23, even if there's a regression, you don't think it's to the extreme that we have now. I think we have had some guys rebound. Obviously (Sean Murphy), he's significantly better than he was a year ago at this time. And he felt the oblique (injury last season) was a big part of that. Advertisement Ronald (Acuña Jr.) has swung the bat great when he's been in there. And we've seen some other guys like (Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies) be streaky. I think Matt (Olson) and Austin (Riley) have still performed. They have good numbers. They've put up MVP-caliber numbers. Matt was fourth in MVP two years ago. And Austin can be right there, he's gotten MVP votes in the past. Those two and Ronald are in their own stratosphere. But we're working through things. We clearly have not been able to solve it as a group. That's players, coaches, front office. For me to give you anything more and speculate, I just don't think it'd be responsible. I wish I could tell you, 'Look, here, this is it. You're going to see it start tomorrow night.' I think you ultimately believe in the group. And I know we can get hot. I know things can turn. This is my eighth season here, and '21 is a great example. It was doom and gloom for a long time. And I didn't project it to be August that we would finally catch fire (that season) and go for the next two months. But we've seen guys have great first halves, fall off in the second half. We've seen the guys do the opposite. Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler had miserable first halves with their clubs (in 2021). They were tremendous for us. Even Harris last year, at the end of the year. So, we're gonna have to ultimately look at the aggregate and the six months over time. Look, we don't want guys to be streaky. We want consistency, we want great performance. Of course, we want to win every game and we're working at it. But if I could pinpoint one thing, it would have been addressed, and we would have it solved. (Top photo of AJ Smith-Shawver: Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Braves' Chris Sale becomes fastest major league pitcher to 2,500 strikeouts
Braves' Chris Sale becomes fastest major league pitcher to 2,500 strikeouts Show Caption Hide Caption Does Alex Rodriguez think Ohtani should get back into pitching? Sports Seriously's Mackenzie Salmon asks Alex Rodriguez about the Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani's focus on hitting than pitching right now. Sports Seriously Chris Sale added another milestone to his Hall of Fame resume. The reigning National League Cy Young winner became the fastest pitcher in major-league history to reach the 2,500-strikeout milestone, breaking the record previously held by Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. On his final pitch Thursday night, Sale struck out Edmundo Sosa of the Philadelphia Phillies to end the sixth inning for his 2,500th victim. The Atlanta Braves left-hander reached the milestone in 2,026 innings, besting Johnson's record of 2,107 ⅔ innings in 1999. In doing so, Sale also became the 38th pitcher in modern history to reach the milestone. "I appreciate it for what it is, but I try not to get too caught up in stuff like that right now," Sale said after the Braves' 9-3 win in Philadelphia. "I know what our job is here. And no matter whether you have a good one or a bad one, the next one is the most important one." Said Braves manager Brian Snitker: "He's kind of doing Hall of Fame stuff. That guy is probably as big a baseball fan as anybody, just the history of the game and the competition. He's a ballplayer, and it's really cool to watch." Sale, who is one of the highest-paid starting pitchers this season, is 3-3 with a 3.06 ERA through 12 starts this year. Last season, he went 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and led the NL with 225 strikeouts en route to his first Cy Young award. During the course of his 15-year major league career, he has struck out 200-plus batters eight times and is one of four active pitchers with 2,500-plus career strikeouts, trailing Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Lip-readers saw Braves pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver's devastating message before leaving game
Lip-readers saw Braves pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver's devastating message before leaving game Braves pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver had been one of the few bright spots in a disappointing Atlanta season thus far as the 22-year-old turned himself into a Rookie of the Year contender. But now, the Braves are bracing for some devastating news about the rookie pitcher. Smith-Shawver was removed from the game in the third inning one batter after taking a Bryson Stott line drive off the ankle. Initially, Smith-Shawver told the Braves' staff that he was OK to stay in the game. But after Trea Turner flew out to deep left field, that was it for Smith-Shawver. Yet, it didn't appear that the ankle was the concern at all. While speaking to Braves manager Brian Snitker and the training staff, Smith-Shawver appeared to say he felt a "pop" in his arm. The Braves hadn't officially commented on the injury, but Braves beat writer Mark Bowman echoed the concerns about a pop in the pitcher's elbow. In that at-bat against Turner, Smith-Shawver's velocity dropped to 94 mph after throwing 98.7 mph a few pitches earlier. He was also seen shaking his hand, which isn't a good sign. Let's hope the Braves rookie avoided a setback, but the initial reaction wasn't encouraging at all.
