Strider feels 'good to go,' but Braves are weighing options

PITTSBURGH -- Spencer Strider hopes to be activated from the injured list this week. But he understands the Braves have some variables to weigh before deciding whether it’s prudent to bring him back now while also trying not to overtax the bullpen during the club’s current stretch of 17 games in 17 days.

“I feel good about my chances to give us a chance to win if I’m out there,” Strider said. “But it’s not up to me.”

Strider isn’t listed among the four pitchers scheduled to start during this week’s four-game series against the Nationals, which begins on Monday. If Strider was activated to start against the Red Sox on Friday night at Fenway, Chris Sale would gain what could be a beneficial extra day of rest.

The Braves could evaluate how many pitches Sale throws during Sunday’s start in Pittsburgh and how their bullpen is used during the Nationals series before determining whether Strider will be activated this week or asked to make at least one rehab start.

Strider’s strained right hamstring felt good during a 40-plus-pitch side session on Saturday, but he hasn’t pitched in a game since making his return from right elbow surgery on April 16. He threw 97 pitches (58 strikes) over five innings that day in Toronto, but then he tweaked his hamstring five days later while playing catch the day before his scheduled start against the Cardinals.

The Braves haven’t had an off-day since May 1, and they’re one week away from their next. It wouldn’t hurt to add a sixth starter to help the others complete this stretch. But Atlanta also has to consider the fact that Strider hasn’t pitched in more than three weeks. Could he last at least five innings? If not, what kind of damaging domino effect could this have on the bullpen?

“I feel good to go, but admittedly, I haven’t pitched in three weeks,” Strider said. “So, I won’t be shocked if they don’t feel comfortable running me out there. I’ve made my availability known. Beyond that, it’s up to them.”

Along with debating whether it might be wise to have Strider make at least one rehab start, the Braves would have to weigh exactly how to get him on the roster if they decide to carry six starters.

Daysbel Hernández and Dylan Lee are the only bullpen members with Minor League options remaining. Both are far too valuable to be optioned. Any thoughts of parting ways with long reliever Scott Blewett likely evaporated as he worked two scoreless innings to end Saturday’s 11-inning win against Pittsburgh. He also kept Cincinnati scoreless over the final two innings of Atlanta’s extra-inning win on Thursday.

The Braves will evaluate their options while anxiously looking forward to putting Strider back in their rotation on a consistent basis. The right-hander led MLB in strikeouts from 2022-23 and was considered a legit Cy Young Award candidate before suffering a season-ending right elbow injury during his second start of the 2024 season.

Strider needed just 12 months to recover after an internal brace was inserted to repair his damaged ulnar collateral ligament. His speedy recovery from this hamstring ailment was aided by a platelet-poor plasma injection he received on April 23, two days after tweaking his hamstring while playing catch from a distance of 70 feet.