Questions Remain With Braves' AJ Smith Shawver's Road to Recovery

The Athletic's David O'Brien essentially reported the same thing the day prior.

"Braves pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver will have elbow surgery next week, but the extent of the surgery hasn't been determined and presumably won't be until the surgeon gets in there to see exactly what is required," tweeted O'Brien.

The Braves rookie right-hander suffered an elbow injury in the first game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 29.

Strangely, Smith-Shawver took a line drive off an ankle during the third inning of his start. He then exited a few batters later.

The first assumption was something was wrong with the rookie's lower body. But then replay of the last few deliveries Smith-Shawver made indicated that he was grimacing after throwing, and that he may have suffered an elbow injury.

On May 30, Bowman and O'Brien each reported Smith-Shawver suffered a torn UCL in his throwing elbow.

The Braves have the pitching depth to overcome the loss of Smith-Shawver this season. The team also sits eight games below .500 because of its offense and not due to starting pitching.

But Smith-Shawver's injury is still a significant blow to Atlanta, especially because the rookie very likely won't be ready to return at the start of the 2026 season.

The Braves will decide between the right-hander having Tommy John surgery or the internal brace. Generally, the recovery timeline with the internal brace is quicker.

Atlanta fans should be familiar with the internal brace method because that's what Spencer Strider had with his UCL injury last year.

Smith-Shawver went 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA, 1.421 WHIP and 42 strikeouts in 44.1 MLB innings this season before the injury.