Braves in early stages of determining Schwellenbach's timeline

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Spencer Schwellenbach is preparing to undergo an arthroscopic procedure to remove bone spurs from his right elbow. If all goes well, it seems like he could return at some point in June.

But when asked if this was his understanding, Braves manager Walt Weiss was non-committal.

“I think there’s a lot of ways this thing could go,” Weiss said. “We’re in the early stages. It's tough to predict. It's a little complicated, the injury he is dealing with. So, yeah [returning in June] would be great. But I’m not going to live by that right now. We’ll see what happens.”

Schwellenbach was excited about what this year might bring. He was putting himself in the Cy Young Award conversation when he fractured his right elbow during a seven-inning gem against the Phillies on June 28. He missed the season’s final three months, rehabbed throughout the winter and was on track for Spring Training before his elbow tightened after a Jan. 30 bullpen session.

“I was getting built up for Spring Training,” Schwellenbach said. “Everything was feeling good. I had touched the mound four or five times. I had a bullpen two Fridays ago. It was 20 pitches and I was letting it go pretty good. With about three pitches left, I just felt something wrong with my elbow.”

The Braves announced the injury on Tuesday. Schwellenbach revealed the plans for surgery when he spoke to the media on Wednesday. A date for the procedure hasn’t been set.

“Bone spurs are quite common in pitchers,” Schwellenbach said. “Most people have them. It's whether or not they feel them or not. So, this is a surgery or scope procedure that's been done many, many times, and I'm pretty confident with it. I don't know what the exact days are to rest or to build back to throwing. But I guess we'll figure that out when the time comes.”

Schwellenbach showed his great potential in 2024, when he began the year at the High-A level and then posted a 3.35 ERA over 21 big league starts. He ranked among the league leaders in innings pitched while posting a 3.09 ERA in 17 starts last year. He posted a 2.60 ERA over his final 10 starts.

Reigning National League Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin knows how committed Schwellenbach was to being ready for the start of this season.

“I was able to work out with him this whole offseason, and he did everything he had to do,” Baldwin said. “He was in there every day, working as hard as he possibly could. With how hard he worked, I thought he was going to be invincible.”

Jiménez update
Joe Jiménez missed all of the 2025 season while recovering from knee surgery and the Braves indicated in December he wouldn’t be ready for the start of the upcoming season. With the decision to place him on the 60-day injured list on Tuesday, Weiss was asked whether the former top setup man might pitch this season?

“I mean, that would be great,” Weiss said. “You talk about really feeling bad for a guy. He’s been through it. It's a really complex injury and he's had setbacks, and he's doing everything in his power to get back on the field and he’s still optimistic. But this has been a tough one.”

Most regulars are already here
Ronald Acuña Jr., Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris II, Mike Yastrzemski and Mauricio Dubón are among the position players who are already in camp. The Braves will have their first full-squad workout on Sunday.