The Atlanta Braves might be in some trouble now. On Saturday, the team announced that their “ ace” pitcher Spencer Strider has been diagnosed with an UCL (Ulnar Collateral Ligament) damage to his right elbow following an MRI on his right elbow.
The concerns regarding Strider emerged on Friday when he left the Atlanta Braves‘ season opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks with some discomfort. He would only last four innings in this game, before quitting the game.
According to New York Times, the 25-year-old pitcher will be further evaluated in Arlington, Texas. This injury could be a big blow to him and the Braves as in most UCL cases, the player undergoes the Tommy John surgery. If Strider undergoes this, his 2024 season will be over.
His coach Brian Snitker was sad to hear this news and acknowledged that the team is now bracing themselves for more bad news regarding Strider in the upcoming days.
You hate that. You hate it for him. I feel really bad for him. I mean, the kid does everything right...You never expect these things to be good or just a blip on the screen. Brian Snitker said.
Trevor Bauer questions pitch clock rule following injuries to pitchers
Former MLB pitcher Trevor Bauer has raised some major queries regarding the rules placed by the league. The 2020 NL Cy Young award winner has questioned the pitch clock rule after several pitchers including his former teammate Shane Bieber got injured.
On Saturday, the Cleveland Guardians announced that their team’s ace Shane Bieber will be undergoing the Tommy John surgery, which rules him out for the rest of the year. The timing of this is what is hurting the Guardians more as Bieber had looked dominant in his two starts this year.
Recently the Miami Marlins also announced that their top pitching prospect Eury Perez will be undergoing the TJ surgery and will be out for the season. Bauer has now claimed that despite the workload being decreased, the injuries have risen. This is something that has surprised him.
Seeing so many of the games top arms go down with injury is terrible. Terrible for the players, teams, and fans. Workloads continue to shrink, but injuries continue to skyrocket. Something doesn’t add up. Is this pitch clock related? Something else? What do y’all think? Trevor Bauer on X.
As per the pitch clock rule, the pitcher has to be in motion to throw the pitch within 15 seconds of facing the batter. With runners on base, this time is increased to 20 seconds. This rule was brought in to reduce the game time and has so far brough out the desired result. The average game time came down by almost half and hour in the 2023 season, signaling the success of this rule.
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