Taking another look at Snitker's handling of Smith-Shawver's injury

This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ATLANTA -- Braves manager Brian Snitker has made some questionable decisions over the past couple weeks. I didn’t like Grant Holmes facing Abraham Toro for a third time Friday night just a month after letting him face Eugenio Suárez for a third time en route toward his four-homer game.

I didn’t like the decision to start platooning Eli White when Ronald Acuña Jr. returned from the injured list. Even if you thought the clock was about to strike midnight for White, his speed and defense alone make him a better choice than Alex Verdugo in left field.

But I also think Snitker has drawn unfair criticism regarding AJ Smith-Shawver’s season-ending elbow injury. Much of the uproar was created by the video of Spencer Strider informing pitching coach Rick Kranitz that Smith-Shawver appeared to be injured. This prompted Snitker to visit the mound, where Smith-Shawver told him his elbow popped.

Smith-Shawver’s first sign of discomfort was when he shook his arm after throwing a first-pitch fastball to Trea Turner in his third and final inning. The Braves hurler grimaced with the next pitch, but didn’t show much more than possibly a stiffened arm after the third pitch. The next offering, his last of the day, brought an even more exaggerated grimace and a stiffened arm.

Should Snitker have noticed this within those first three pitches, especially since they immediately followed Smith-Shawver being struck on the right heel by Bryson Stott’s liner back to the mound? Maybe. But Kranitz or a member of the team’s medical staff could have, as well.

Keep in mind that Snitker is thinking about a plethora of things in that moment -- like how he’s going to navigate his way through the 15 remaining innings of the doubleheader.

As for getting other answers -- like whether Smith-Shawver should have been removed immediately after he was hobbled by Stott’s liner -- Smith-Shawver hasn’t yet been made available to explain exactly how he felt during that succession of pitches.

Speculation will reign until he does speak with reporters. But I find it very hard to believe the UCL tear had anything to do with Smith-Shawver throwing four more pitches after being hit by Stott’s comebacker.

There’s no doubt a pitcher subjects himself to a potentially serious injury whenever he compensates for a lesser ailment, like a bruised heel. But that’s something that typically occurs over a period of time, longer than a minute or two.

Or maybe we should just point out the velo drop actually occurred with the pitch to Stott.

Smith-Shawver threw the second-fastest pitch (99.6 mph) of his career to Trea Turner in the first inning, and he averaged 97.1 mph with the 21 four-seam fastballs he threw on Thursday. This marked the third straight start the 22-year-old hurler produced a new career-high average velocity with his fastball. He averaged 96.8 mph against the Nationals on May 15 and 96.9 mph when pitching at Nationals Park on May 22.

Smith-Shawver still appeared fine when his first eight fastballs of the third inning ranged between 96.7 to 98.9 mph. The velocity dropped with the only fastball thrown to Stott, the 95.8 mph four-seamer he dotted off Smith-Shawver’s shoe.

The Braves pitcher hopped to the left side of the mound, limped briefly, threw a couple of warm-up pitches and continued pitching. His next pitch to Turner was clocked at 95.9 mph, a tick higher than the pitch he threw to Stott. Smith-Shawver concluded his outing with fastballs that registered 94.7 mph and 94.2 mph.

“I don’t think it had anything to do with [the comebacker],” Snitker said. “I think it’s just a byproduct of his velocity. It’s been very, very good. I think it was just something that was destined to happen.”

So for now, let’s focus on what we do know, which is this: If Smith-Shawver needs Tommy John surgery, he’ll miss all of 2026. If he undergoes the same procedure Strider did last year, he might be able to return to pitch next summer.

Unfortunately, this likely was an unavoidable situation. And yes, it wasn’t a good look when Strider had to tell the coaches Smith-Shawver was ailing. Both can be true.