Walt Weiss walks back comments on Spencer Schwellenbach

That’s quite the turn of events, and an encouraging one for the Braves’ chances of making a deep postseason run. When healthy, Schwellenbach is a legitimate frontline starter, fully capable of taking the ball in Game 2 behind Chris Sale. That said, with anyone coming back from such a lengthy layoff, expectations have to be tempered. The Braves really shouldn’t be banking on Schwellenbach giving them anything this season with the trade deadline closing in.

As for a timeline, it shouldn’t be much longer before Schwellenbach begins a rehab assignment, which will essentially be treated as a full Spring Training. He’ll follow a similar path to the one both Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver have taken over the last couple of months, but a return around September feels like the best-case scenario. That should give Schwellenbach more than enough time to prove he belongs in a potential playoff rotation.