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AJ Smith-Shawver

AJ Smith-Shawver Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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The Braves announced Monday that right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver underwent Tommy John surgery this morning. He’ll miss the remainder of the 2025 season and a good portion of the 2026 season as well, though an exact timetable will hinge on how his recovery proceeds. Generally, it’s best to assume an absence of at least 14 months, but every rehab varies.

Smith-Shawver’s injury puts an early end to what was originally looking like a terrific rookie campaign. Though he’d pitched in the majors in both 2023 and 2024, the 22-year-old righty narrowly retained that rookie status heading into this season. He stormed out of the gate with a 2.33 ERA, 24.8% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate in his first 38 2/3 innings, holding opponents to two or fewer runs in six of his first seven starts.

The Nationals shelled Smith-Shawver for seven runs in three innings on May 22, however, and he departed his next start on May 29 with an injury after just 2 2/3 innings. It’s never encouraging when a pitcher departs due to elbow discomfort, and all signs in the immediate aftermath proved increasingly ominous. Smith-Shawver told reporters after the game that he’d felt a “pop” in his elbow. He was placed on the 15-day IL with a strain the same day but transferred to the 60-day IL just 18 hours later. Barely 24 hours after he’d exited with a trainer, the Braves announced that Smith-Shawver had been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament.

With Smith-Shawver joining Reynaldo Lopez on the shelf — Lopez had arthroscopic shoulder surgery in April but could potentially return late in the year — Atlanta’s pitching depth is increasingly stretched. They currently have Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder in the rotation. That’s a solid group on paper, but Strider hasn’t looked at all like himself in his first few games back from his own UCL repair.

The depth beyond that current quintet is a bit suspect. Davis Daniel and Nathan Wiles both have solid numbers with Triple-A Gwinnett and are on the 40-man roster, but they’re both relatively soft-tossing righties who were acquired in minor offseason swaps — Wiles for cash this past spring and Daniel for recent 14th-round pick Mitch Farris (after Daniel had been designated for assignment by the Angels). Hurston Waldrep, the Braves’ 2023 first-rounder and a former top prospect, has had a disastrous season in Gwinnett. Non-roster depth arms like Ian Anderson, Zach Thompson and Jose Suarez have all already cleared waivers this season and struggled to varying levels in Gwinnett. Suarez recently landed on the minor league injured list as well.

Looking longer term, Smith-Shawver will accrue major league service time and pay while he rehabs from this morning’s surgery. He’ll finish out the season with more than a year of service time but won’t be on track for Super Two status in arbitration. It’s also notable that because he was only in the minors for 16 days earlier this year when Atlanta sent him down, he won’t exhaust what would have been his final option year if he’d been sent down later in the season. He’ll retain one more minor league option year. Smith-Shawver will be on pace for arbitration eligibility in the 2027-28 offseason and for free agency in the 2030-31 offseason (though that remaining minor league option could impact either trajectory).

MLBTR Podcast: Jarren Duran Rumors, Caglianone And Young Promoted, And Pitching Injuries

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • If the Diamondbacks can’t climb in the standings, what does their deadline look like? (48:45)
  • As a thought experiment, if the Orioles were willing to listen on Gunnar Henderson, what teams would even have the pieces to pull off a trade? (54:10)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

AJ Smith-Shawver Diagnosed With Torn UCL

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Braves right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. It is still being determined whether the righty will undergo Tommy John surgery or an internal brace procedure. In either case, he should miss the remainder of this season and part of the 2026 campaign as well.

The news is devastating but not surprising. Smith-Shawver started the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader against the Phillies. He was removed in the third inning and it was quickly reported that he felt a pop in his throwing elbow. He was placed on the 15-day IL before the second game of that twin bill with an elbow strain. “It doesn’t look good,” was manager Brian Snitker’s assessment of the situation. He was transferred to the 60-day IL earlier today, only enhancing the sense that bad news was coming.

All the warning signs have now proven to be accurate. Smith-Shawver will go under the knife and the only thing left to determine is if he’ll require a full Tommy John procedure or the internal brace variant. The latter generally comes with a slightly lesser return timeline, but even that reduced time frame is generally around a year or so. He will therefore spend the rest of the year on the 60-day IL and will perhaps start the 2026 season there as well.

He will collect big league pay and service time while on the IL but that’s a small consolation. He was in the middle of establishing himself as a true big league starter. He had logged 44 1/3 innings over nine starts this year with a 3.86 earned run average. His 10.9% walk rate was on the high side but his 21.9% strikeout rate was slightly above par for a starter. He’ll now have to wait until 2026 to build off that showing.

For the team, they are now down two starters. Reynaldo López had arthroscopic shoulder surgery earlier in the year and seems unlikely to return until late in the season, even in a best-case scenario.

Bryce Elder will be recalled to start on Sunday, per Bowman. Elder seemingly cemented himself in the big leagues in 2023 when he posted a 3.81 ERA over 31 starts. However, his results backed up last year, which bumped him down the chart to being a frequently-optioned depth piece. He was only able to make ten big league starts last year with a 6.52 ERA. He has continued to be shuttled to Gwinnett and back here in 2025. He has a 4.50 ERA in eight big league starts as well as an 8.76 ERA in three Triple-A starts.

If Elder falters, he still has options and the club has other arms available. Hurston Waldrep, Nathan Wiles and Davis Daniel are all on the 40-man roster and pitching in the Triple-A rotation. Ian Anderson and José Suarez are not on the 40-man roster but both have major league experience and are pitching in the Triple-A rotation as well.

Photo courtesy of Bill Streicher, Imagn Images

Braves Sign Jose Azocar, Transfer AJ Smith-Shawver To 60-Day IL

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The Braves announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Jose Azocar to the major league roster. Azocar just elected free agency two days ago after being outrighted by the Mets. Atlanta hadn’t announced their signing of him, but it seems he signed a minor league pact and has quickly been summoned to the majors. In a concerning development, righty AJ Smith-Shawver, who was recently placed on the IL due to an elbow strain, has already been transferred to the 60-day injured list. He’ll now miss at least two months of action.

Atlanta also placed outfielder Stuart Fairchild on the 10-day IL with a dislocated pinkie finger, optioned righty Michael Petersen to Triple-A Gwinnett and recalled left-hander Dylan Dodd.

Azocar, 29, appeared in a dozen games for the Mets this year and went 5-for-18 (all singles). He’s seen action in each of the past four MLB seasons, primarily with the Padres, and carries a career .245/.290/.320 slash with two homers and 19 steals in 417 plate appearances.

The righty-swinging Azocar’s game is focused on defense and baserunning, much like the injured Fairchild, who he’s effectively replacing on Atlanta’s roster. Azocar is actually a narrow tick faster, averaging 28.9 ft/sec to Fairchild’s 28.7, per Statcast’s measurements. The specifics aren’t all that important with a gap that small; the larger takeaway is that the Braves aren’t losing any speed off the bench and are swapping out the injured Fairchild for another solid defender who can handle all three outfield spots. There is, however, a notable gap in offensive skill set. Neither is a plus hitter overall, but Fairchild has solid splits against lefties in his big league career. Azocar, despite swinging right-handed, actually has considerably better career marks versus righties than lefties.

The news on Smith-Shawver comes as a significant concern. He started the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader but was tagged for two runs in 2 2/3 innings before departing with elbow discomfort. Atlanta placed him on the 15-day IL with an elbow strain between starts. The immediate move to the 60-day IL rules Smith-Shawver out until at least late July, and the specter of an even lengthier absence will now loom until the Braves provide a more detailed update on his status.

Smith-Shawver’s injury is the latest in a long line of notable injuries for Atlanta this year. The former top prospect was among the leaders in a weak National League Rookie of the Year field. Through his first seven starts, Smith-Shawver coasted to a terrific 2.33 ERA, fanning nearly a quarter of his opponents (albeit against a less-encouraging 10.6% walk rate). Things have taken an ugly turn over his past two starts. The Nats trounced him for seven runs in three innings last week, and he was shaky before being lifted from yesterday’s start.

Smith-Shawver joins Reynaldo Lopez and Joe Jimenez as key pitchers on the 60-day injured list for the Braves. Atlanta has also endured notable absences from ace Spencer Strider, star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and catcher Sean Murphy, though all three are healthy and active at the moment.

AJ Smith-Shawver Placed On 15-Day IL With Elbow Strain

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Between games of today’s doubleheader against the Phillies, the Braves placed right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow strain. Righty Michael Petersen has been recalled to take his place on the active roster.

Smith-Shawver started the first game the twin bill today but departed in the third inning. There was some initial speculation he had sustained a foot injury since he had been hit by a comebacker in the game, but it’s now clear that it’s a more ominous elbow injury. Per Mark Bowman of MLB.com, the righty felt a pop in his elbow and is now going back to Atlanta for testing. Those tests will reveal more information but manager Brian Snitker says that “it doesn’t look good.”

More concrete information will surely be forthcoming after Smith-Shawver visits with the medical experts but it seems fair to wonder about the worst-case situation in this scenario. The specter of a notable surgery is always looming when a pitcher’s elbow is in the spotlight and the omens seem particularly gloomy in this case. Even if Smith-Shawver can avoid the scalpel, a notable absence of some kind could still be a possibility.

Prior to this injury, Smith-Shawver seemed to be putting a bit of a breakout together. He came into this season with just 29 2/3 innings of major league experience. Before today’s truncated outing, he had added 41 2/3 innings over eight starts this year. He has allowed 3.67 earned runs per nine in those with a 22.7% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate. He seemed to be in the process of establishing himself as a bonafide big league starter but that will be put on hold now, potentially for an extended amount of time.

For the club, they will have to figure out how to fill that rotation spot. Reynaldo López is out due to arthroscopic shoulder surgery and is still a few months away from a potential return. Four spots are currently held by Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach and Grant Holmes.

Per Bowman, Bryce Elder is likely to come up and take over for Smith-Shawver. Elder has a 4.50 ERA in eight starts for Atlanta this year. They could also kick that decision down the road a bit. They have Sale going in tonight’s game, followed by Holmes, Schwellenbach and Strider in their weekend series against the Red Sox. They are off on Monday and could therefore go back to Sale on regular rest on Tuesday. That would mean Elder wouldn’t be needed until next weekend, though they could also call him up early next week and push everyone back a day.

Assuming Elder holds a rotation spot for a while, the club’s top depth options will likely now be Hurston Waldrep, Nathan Wiles and Davis Daniel. All three of them are on the 40-man roster and pitching in Triple-A.

Photo courtesy of Bill Streicher, Imagn Images

Braves Designate Ian Anderson For Assignment

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The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve designated righty Ian Anderson for assignment. His roster spot will go to fellow right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver, who has been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett and will start today’s game for Atlanta.

Anderson only just returned to the Braves two days ago, when Atlanta claimed him off waivers from the Angels. He’d landed in Anaheim after the Braves and Halos swapped a pair of struggling, out-of-options pitchers in Anderson and lefty Jose Suarez. The deal didn’t pan out for either party. Anderson was torched for a dozen earned runs in 9 1/3 innings with the Angels. Suarez held opponents to two runs in seven innings but walked more batters (seven) than he struck out (five) and has already passed through waivers unclaimed.

Anderson didn’t get into a game with the Braves in this most recent stint. He hasn’t pitched a big league frame for Atlanta since back in 2022, when he stumbled through 111 2/3 innings with an even 5.00 ERA. The right-hander required Tommy John surgery the following season and went on to miss all of the 2023 season and a notable portion of the 2024 campaign.

Though his overall track record in the majors isn’t all that eye-catching (4.22 ERA in 281 2/3 innings), Anderson is a former No. 3 overall draft pick who ranked among the sport’s top pitching prospects prior to his debut. He made good on that fanfare with 160 2/3 innings of 3.25 ERA ball during his first two seasons, punching out 24.5% of opponents against a 10% walk rate.

Injuries have played a major role in derailing Anderson’s career. He stands as a reminder that while it’s easy to look at Tommy John surgery as commonplace throughout MLB, it’s nonetheless a major surgery from which a return to form is hardly guaranteed.

Anderson’s velocity still hasn’t bounced all the way back following the procedure. He averaged 94.6 mph on his four-seamer back in 2021 but sat at 92.8 mph out of the rotation in the minors last year. He averaged 93.7 mph with the Angels in 2025 despite working in short relief stints. Similarly, his command — never a strong point to begin with — has been shaky. He walked nearly 12% of his Triple-A opponents last year and walked 13.7% of his opponents during his brief Angels tenure.

The Braves will have five days to place Anderson on outright waivers or trade him. Waivers would be another 48-hour process. He’ll be in DFA limbo for a maximum of one week. Anderson doesn’t have minor league options remaining, so any team that trades for him or claims him off waivers will need to plug him directly onto the big league roster.

Braves Activate Spencer Strider

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April 16: Strider has been activated ahead of his start against the Blue Jays this afternoon, per a team announcement. Right-hander Zach Thompson was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

April 13: Prior to today’s game against the Rays, the Braves announced that the club had optioned right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver to the minor leagues. In the short-term, the move made room for righty Michael Petersen to join the club. More important than that move, however, is the impending shift in the rotation Smith-Shawver’s departure portends. As noted by multiple reporters, including David O’Brien of The Athletic, Smith-Shawver’s departure from the active roster will make way for the highly-anticipated return of right-hander Spencer Strider to the rotation on April 16 against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

Strider, 26, hasn’t pitched in just over a year after undergoing internal brace surgery on his UCL early last season. The right-hander has just two full MLB seasons under his belt, in 2022 and ’23, but in that time he posted a 3.36 ERA with a 2.43 FIP and a 37.4% strikeout rate. Those incredible stats were enough to get Strider a second-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting, an All-Star appearance, and a fourth-place finish in NL Cy Young voting across the two seasons, and the decorated fireballer now figures to return to lead Atlanta’s rotation once again now that he’s healthy. It couldn’t come at a better time, as the Braves have struggled badly out of the gate with a 4-11 start to open the season. Those struggles are due in large part to a rotation that has lost Reynaldo Lopez for much of the 2025 season to shoulder surgery and has seen reigning NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale scuffle to a 6.63 ERA in 19 innings of work across his first four starts this season.

Strider’s long-awaited return to the big league mound means the end of Smith-Shawver’s stint in the rotation to open the year. The right-hander was generally serviceable for Atlanta across three starts, with a 4.61 ERA that clocks in just below league average and a 4.16 FIP. While Smith-Shawver’s 26.2% strikeout rate in those starts was solid, a 12.3% walk rate raised enough concerns that the club has opted to stick with Bryce Elder in the rotation despite his ugly 7.20 ERA in two starts against the Dodgers and Rays. That leaves Elder to pair with Grant Holmes at the back of the club’s rotation for the time being, though Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep, and Dylan Dodd all remain available at Triple-A as potential rotation options if Elder fails to improve.

Strider may not be the only reinforcement the Braves are getting from Triple-A this week. O’Brien suggests that “all signs are pointing to” an impending call-up for outfielder Alex Verdugo, who was signed to a $1.5MM deal three weeks ago but has spent that time in the minor leagues catching up after missing most of Spring Training. It’s possible he would’ve spent the entire month of April at Triple-A, but things changed when Jurickson Profar was suspended for 80-games due to a failed PED test. That’s left the Braves to try and get by with Jarred Kelenic, Stuart Fairchild, and Bryan De La Cruz in the outfield corners while Ronald Acuna Jr. heals up after suffering a torn ACL last May.

Verdugo should help to bolster that outfield mix somewhat, giving the Braves a more proven veteran to handle left field in place of Profar while he serves his suspension. While he posted a lackluster 83 wRC+ with the Yankees last year, he had been a consistently league average bat for the Red Sox in each of his four seasons with the club prior to that, hitting .281/.328/.444 (105 wRC+) overall during his time in Boston. Whether Verdugo will ultimately join the Braves in Toronto for their series against the Blue Jays or instead be called up next weekend for their series against the Twins remains to be seen, but O’Brien indicates that Verdugo’s return to the majors appears to be imminent.

Chris Sale Not On Braves’ Wild Card Roster

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The Braves announced their roster for the Wild Card series today and it does not include left-hander Chris Sale. The club is going with an even split of 13 pitchers and position players, the latter group including two catchers, five infielders and six outfielders.

Sale had an excellent bounceback season in 2024 and could be awarded a Cy Young trophy in a few weeks, but the campaign ended on a frustrating note. He hasn’t taken the mound since September 19 against the Reds. In that outing, Sale’s velocity was down and he hasn’t pitched since. Up until yesterday, it seemed as though the club was just holding Sale to see if they would need him for a do-or-die game, otherwise hoping to hold him back for the first game of the Wild Card round.

Going into yesterday’s double-header, which was necessitated after two midweek games between the Mets and Atlanta were delayed by Hurricane Helene, both clubs needed a victory to secure a playoff spot. Spencer Schwellenbach started Game 1, which the Mets went on to win 8-7. It was expected that Sale would take the ball for the second contest but the club then announced that Sale had been scratched with back spasms. The issue had flared up during that start against the Reds and he kept hoping to be able to return to the mound but it didn’t improve and then worsened on Sunday night, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com (X links).

Based on Sale being left off the Wild Card roster, it can be assumed that the club doesn’t expect him to be game ready in the next few days. As mentioned, he is having a great season and undoubtedly would have been a part of their plans if he were healthy. He made 29 starts this year with a 2.38 earned run average, 32.1% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate and 44.8% ground ball rate.

Without Sale, the club will have to get creative to survive against the Padres. Due to the aforementioned double-header situation, they used a lot of arms yesterday. Schwellenbach started the first game and Grant Holmes the second. Neither of those pitchers are on the roster either, which makes sense since they probably wouldn’t be available for a few days anyway.

Max Fried and Reynaldo López will likely start game two and three respectively, as they would be on normal rest for those contests following their last regular season outings. Charlie Morton started on Sunday and might not be available early in the series, though he is on the roster.

For today, the club may be looking to get some innings out of Bryce Elder or AJ Smith-Shawver. Neither has been a huge part of the club’s performance of late but they may need to step up while the bullpen is taxed and the club can’t turn to Sale, Schwellenbach or Holmes. Elder posted a 6.52 ERA in the big leagues this year while frequently being optioned to the minors. He had a solid 3.73 ERA in Triple-A this year but hasn’t pitched for the big league club since August 6.

Smith-Shawver only pitched once in the majors this year, a spot start of 4 1/3 innings in May. He has a 4.85 ERA in Triple-A on the year, though he finished somewhat strong with a 3.68 ERA over his last seven starts.

In addition to Elder and Smith-Shawver, Atlanta’s playoff roster consists of Fried, Lopez, Morton, Aaron Bummer, Jesse Chavez, Daysbel Hernández, Raisel Iglesias, Luke Jackson, Joe Jiménez, Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee. On the position player side, they have catchers Sean Murphy and Travis d’Arnaud, infielders Ozzie Albies, Orlando Arcia, Whit Merrifield, Matt Olson and Gio Urshela, as well as outfielders Michael Harris II, Jarred Kelenic, Ramón Laureano, Marcell Ozuna, Jorge Soler and Eli White.

Braves Sign Joey Wendle

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The Braves announced a series of roster moves today, signing infielder Joey Wendle and recalling left-hander Ray Kerr. In corresponding moves, infielder Luke Williams was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett while right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver was placed on the 15-day injured list with a strained left oblique. The club already had a 40-man vacancy for Wendle. Smith-Shawver has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain, the team told reporters (link via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). The team didn’t provide any kind of timetable, but Toscano writes that a Grade 2 oblique strain typically requires a six-to-eight absence.

Wendle, 34, is a veteran utility player who signed with the Mets in the offseason, a one-year deal with a $2MM guarantee. He was kept in a limited role, only getting into 18 games during his roughly six weeks on the Mets, stepping to the plate 37 times in that stretch. He hit just .222/.243/.250, a continuation of his rough 2023 with the Marlins, as he hit just .212/.248/.306  last year.

The Mets released him earlier this week and are on the hook for the remainder of Wendle’s salary. Atlanta will only be responsible for the prorated league minimum for as long as Wendle is on their roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Mets pay.

Atlanta has been rotating various players through their bench infielder role this year, with each of David Fletcher, Luis Guillorme, Zack Short and Williams getting a look for that job. Short is still on the roster and has been the club’s regular third baseman lately with Austin Riley battling an an intercostal strain.

By bumping Williams down to Gwinnett and adding Wendle, the club adds a bit more infield depth at essentially no cost, given that the Mets are covering the bulk of the money and that Atlanta had an open roster spot to use anyway. Wendle hasn’t been hitting much lately but has plenty of experience at the three infield spots to the left of first base, as well as brief stints in the outfield corners. He has generally received strong grades wherever he has played and can give Atlanta some glove-first depth all over the diamond, while Williams can get more regular playing time on the farm.

On the pitching side of things, Atlanta got thrown off their plans a bit on the weekend. Saturday’s game against the Padres was rained out and pushed to a Monday double-header. In Sunday’s game, Bryce Elder was torched for six earned runs in three innings, forcing Kerr to come in and throw 3 1/3 innings of relief, followed by two other pitchers and then Williams mopping up a frame.

Elder was optioned prior to the double-header so that the club could bring in two fresh arms, one of them being the “27th man” for Monday. That allowed Atlanta to bring up both Darius Vines and Daysbel Hernández. Over the two games, five different relievers were used, leaving the bullpen fairly taxed. Kerr was optioned to get the roster back down to 26. Thanks to the double-header, each of Chris Sale, Reynaldo López, Charlie Morton and Max Fried started in a span of three days from Monday to Wednesday. With Elder having been optioned, they had to recall Smith-Shawver to start yesterday’s game and now Kerr will take the ball today in what is likely to be a bullpen game. Pitchers normally have to wait 15 days after being optioned before they can be recalled, but an exception is made when someone else goes on the IL.

Atlanta has seemingly been stretching out Kerr of late, either by design or necessity or both. His four appearances for the big league club this year have gone one inning, two innings, three innings and then three and a third. Overall, he has a 2.89 earned run average in 9 1/3 innings, striking out 27% of opponents without issuing a walk.

That’s a small sample size but perhaps intriguing enough for Atlanta to ride the hot hand for a while. Smith-Shawver is going to miss at least 15 days with this injury and Spencer Strider is out for the year. Elder was just optioned after posting a 6.46 ERA in five starts this year. Huascar Ynoa and Ian Anderson are injured in the minors. Allan Winans and Dylan Dodd each have a 4.50 ERA in Triple-A this year but with uninspiring peripherals.

Kerr was a starter in the minors back before the pandemic but has been kept in relief since then. His numbers as a reliever certainly catch the eye, as he has punched out 27.9% of batters faced in the majors, between his time with San Diego and Atlanta. In 134 minor league innings from 2021 to the present, he has a 3.69 ERA, 33.4% strikeout rate but 12.9% walk rate. Perhaps Atlanta can manufacture another reliever-to-starter success story as they have done with López this year, or perhaps this will just be a spot start for Kerr, which may depend upon how he looks against the Pirates today.

Braves Option AJ Smith-Shawver

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The Braves announced this morning that they’ve optioned right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver to Triple-A Gwinnett, thus ending his bid for a spot in the team’s Opening Day rotation. He’ll begin the season in the upper minors and serve as one of the team’s first lines of defense should an injury occur on the starting staff.

It’s not an entirely unexpected move. The top spots in the Atlanta rotation are set in stone, with Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Charlie Morton and Chris Sale all assured roles heading into camp. That left the fifth spot to a likely battle between Smith-Shawver, Bryce Elder and offseason signee Reynaldo Lopez, whom the Braves plan to stretch back out as a starter after spending the last couple seasons in a bullpen role.

Lopez’s contract made him a favorite to begin with, but the fact that he’s yielded just one run and three hits with a 7-to-2 K/BB ratio and 53% grounder rate in eight spring innings surely hasn’t harmed his chances. Smith-Shawver, by comparison, has been tagged for seven runs on a dozen hits and three walks with 11 strikeouts in 7 2/3 spring frames. Elder, a 2023 All-Star, has had similar struggles to Smith-Shawver in his small sample of spring innings. In 7 2/3 frames, he’s been charged with six runs on the strength of 10 hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts. It might seem surprising to push an All-Star out of the rotation in favor of a converted reliever, but Elder did wilt in alarming fashion down the stretch in ’23, posting a 5.75 ERA with just a 15.1% strikeout rate against a 10.4% walk rate over his final 14 starts/72 innings.

The composition of the Opening Day rotation is in some ways immaterial — particularly for a Braves club that’ll enter the year as an overwhelming postseason favorite. In all likelihood, each of Lopez, Smith-Shawver and Elder will start games for the Braves this season. Injuries limited Fried to just 77 2/3 innings last year, while Sale has pitched only 151 innings over the past four seasons combined. Morton has been a workhorse, ranking sixth in the majors in games started and 11th in innings pitched dating back to 2018 — but he’s also entering his age-40 season.  Injuries are an inevitability among big league pitchers, so the Braves will likely have to tap into their impressive collection of depth arms — headlined by Elder and Smith-Shawver — at various points in 2024.

While the Smith-Shawver demotion clearly isn’t a means of manipulating his service time, it’s still worth noting that the decision could have implications in that regard. The 21-year-old made his MLB debut in 2023 and started five games (plus one relief appearance), pitching to a 4.26 ERA with a 20-to-11 K/BB ratio in 25 1/3 innings. He picked up 50 days of service last season, meaning he’d reach a full year of MLB service with another 122 days on this year’s roster (roughly two-thirds of the season). If he reaches that full year of service, Smith-Shawver would be controllable through the 2029 season. If he spends fewer than 122 days on the roster, he’ll be controllable through the 2030 season.

Smith-Shawver soared from High-A to the majors in 2023, pitching to a combined 2.76 ERA across three minor league levels before making that MLB debut. Baseball America ranks him as the game’s No. 42 prospect. He’s ranked 63rd at FanGraphs and 69th at MLB.com.

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