Snitker Pushes Importance of Injured Braves Pitchers Returning This Season

Normally, the mindset for the Atlanta Braves would be that injured pitchers returning means they get help ahead of going on a run. However, the team is 13 games under .500 a week before the Trade Deadline. Reports have them selling. Some argue that it might not be worth bringing guys like Chris Sale or Spencer Schwellenbach back to pitch this season. Preserve them for 2026. 

Manager Brian Snitker isn’t keen on the idea. He felt that having injured players return before the season’s end mattered beyond a playoff push. 

“I think it’s big for a guy to go into the offseason not in rehab,” Snitker said. “I think I’ve seen over the years that’s a big difference.” 

Pitchers who go into the offseason not in rehab mode are more likely to have a normal offseason and a normal Spring Training, he added. The more pitchers who can return before the end of the season, the better. 

“I think it would be great if we got all those guys back and pitching whenever to finish the year, so they can go into the offseason with some normality instead of coming in here and working out all the time or not going home and doing the things they like to do.” 

Reading between the lines, there is a mental benefit to getting those reps in on the mound. They’re in their normal routines. They can put their injuries behind them sooner. They can just focus on their tasks. 

It’s not possible for all Braves pitchers who have gone down this season. AJ Smith-Shawver underwent Tommy John surgery and just has to wait until he recovers over the next year. However, for Sale and Schwellenbach, who will both become eligible to be activated from the 60-day injured list before the end of August, that benefit applies. The same can arguably work out for Reynaldo López and Joe Jiménez, who have either missed the whole season or virtually the whole season. 

Sale’s recent injury history comes to mind, especially. He didn't finish his Cy Young season healthy. He didn’t pitch after Sept. 19 and was scratched from a Game 162 start. It would likely mean a lot to him to come back and finish things healthy. 

Seeing any of them back would be a sight for sore eyes. The Braves will likely miss the playoffs for the first time in seven years, but fans will at least get to see some familiar faces on the mound again. It’s possible that the rotation getting healthy and the bullpen getting a mainstay back allows them to finish the season strong.  

It doesn’t help this year, per se, but it gives hope that next year will be better. That’s especially the case if players benefit from going into the offseason on a normal routine, as Snitker suggested. That normal routine increases the chances that next year will be better. 

If next year is better, then they’re likely buyers at the deadline instead of sellers. Nothing guaranteed, but the domino effect that could be put in place can be visualized. 

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