The Atlanta Braves will face the Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of their three-game series on Saturday, April 11. They beat Cleveland 11-5 in the opener at Truist Park to move to 9-5 and remain atop the National League East.
On the mound for Atlanta will be left-hander Martin Perez against Cleveland’s Parker Messick.
Perez is one of the few who has had to help stabilize the rotation early in the season with injuries piling up to starters such as Spencer Strider, Hurston Waldrep and Spencer Schwellenbach.
The Braves did receive some encouraging news on Strider recently, though.
Braves Receive New Spencer Strider Injury Update
According to Braves beat writer Mark Bowman, Strider is set to begin his rehab assignment soon, though the process may move slower than originally expected as he works back from an oblique injury.
“Strider will begin his rehab assignment on Thursday. He’ll throw 40-45 pitches. [Walt] Weiss said he doesn’t expect Strider back this month. This is longer than the ‘sooner than later’ projections initially heard. But it’s smart to be cautious with the oblique injuries,” Bowman reported.
Oblique injuries — especially in baseball, and especially for pitchers like Strider — are the kind that need to be handled carefully. Rushing back too soon can easily lead to setbacks or longer-term issues.
And for Strider, health has already been a recurring storyline in his short five-year career.
Back in 2024, he made just two starts before being shut down and undergoing Tommy John surgery.
He returned a little more than a year later last season, but his first outing back was rocky, allowing five hits, two runs and one walk while striking out five in a 3-1 loss.
Strider eventually made 23 appearances and logged 125.1 innings for Atlanta in 2025, going 7-14 with a 4.45 ERA and 1.396 WHIP. He allowed 20 home runs while striking out 131 batters against 51 walks.
Braves Still Need Spencer Strider To Become Rotation Anchor
Along with a few other key players, the Braves invested heavily in Strider early.
During the middle of his first full season in 2022, Atlanta signed him to a six-year, $75 million contract that runs through 2028.
With Max Fried leaving for the New York Yankees and Michael Soroka moved after his own injury struggles, Strider was expected to become the clear ace of the staff.
Instead, injuries have severely complicated that becoming a reality.
Since then, he has appeared in just 57 games, posting a 4.18 ERA across 191.5 innings while compiling a 27-19 record. Overall, he’s 39-24 in his career. He surpassed the 500 strikeouts mark last year and has a career 626 total.
For Strider to fully regain the Braves’ trust, the first step is simple: stay healthy.
Seeing the 27-year-old open the season on the injured list was hardly an ideal start.
That said, it’s not as if Atlanta has endless alternatives. Outside of Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez and Grant Holmes, the Braves have been piecing together a workable rotation to begin the year.
And the investment in Strider is too significant to ignore. Including this season, the flamethrowing right-hander still has three years remaining on his deal.
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