As expected, the Braves activated ace right-hander Spencer Strider from the 15-day injured list on Monday. Atlanta opens a three-game series against the Nationals in Washington on Tuesday, with Strider set to start one of them.
Left-hander Dylan Dodd was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move.
Strider was placed on the IL with a right hamstring strain on April 21, five days after making his first start of the season in a year-long return from right elbow surgery.
"I feel good about where I’m at," Strider said on Thursday. "I need to pitch. I’d pitch every day if I could. I have thrown in one big league game in over a year now, so definitely a lot of things to work on. ... I need the reps, I need the practice and I need to move at full speed -- get guys out and work on my stuff. I’d like to be able to get in some games and get that moving."
The Braves are in a much better place now than they were when Strider made his season debut against the Blue Jays in Toronto on April 16. Strider threw five innings of two-run ball with five K’s in that start but took the loss as Atlanta dropped to 5-13.
Since that defeat, the Braves have notched the National League’s best record at 19-10, looking more like the contender they were expected to be. After taking two of three against the Red Sox at Fenway Park over the weekend, the Braves entered Monday with a 24-23 record, putting them five games out in the National League East and four games behind in the NL Wild Card race.
If Strider is able to recapture the dominant form he showed before his elbow injury, the Braves could have one of MLB’s best rotations, with Strider potentially forming an elite one-two punch with reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale. Strider posted a 3.36 ERA with 483 K’s over 318 1/3 innings from 2022-23, establishing himself as the game’s preeminent strikeout artist.
Even with Strider and Reynaldo López (right shoulder surgery) both sidelined, the club’s starters have recorded a 3.19 ERA over their past 29 games.
The Braves are also expected to get back 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. from a torn left ACL soon, giving the team even more firepower as it aims to continue its impressive turnaround after a slow start to the season.