PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Joey Wentz was carted off the field with a right leg injury during Sunday’s game against the Rays. But initial tests have the Braves hopeful that the left-handed pitcher avoided a serious injury.
Wentz stepped awkwardly on first base and seemingly twisted his right knee while covering first base on a Taylor Walls bunt in the fifth inning. After colliding with Walls, Wentz got to a golf cart under his own power. He was then carted beyond the outfield wall, where he exited the cart and walked into the clubhouse without assistance.
The Braves will continue to evaluate Wentz and provide an official update on Monday. But tests performed by the team’s training staff in the clubhouse created hope that the pitcher didn’t tear his anterior cruciate ligament or suffer a different significant injury.
Wentz came to camp to battle for one of the final spots on Atlanta’s pitching staff. His bid significantly improved when Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both underwent elbow surgery within the first two weeks of Spring Training. Both will miss at least two months and possibly all of the season’s first half.
With Schwellenbach and Waldrep out of the picture, the assumption has been that the Braves will begin the season with six starters. Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo López and Grant Holmes are slated to fill the first four spots. Bryce Elder and Wentz are both out of options. So, to preserve their already-diminished depth, the Braves would seemingly keep both pitchers.
Elder allowed just one run through his first two starts (five innings), but he was charged with five earned runs over 3 1/3 innings on Sunday. Still, his only concern after he exited centered on Wentz.
“I’m hoping he just stepped on the bag weird and it’s just a little hyperextension or a scare or something,” Elder said. “I don’t know what it looks like. But I’ll be praying for him. We’ve got to have him.”
If Wentz is unavailable to start the season, the Braves could opt to give a spot to veteran Martín Pérez, who has allowed three hits over five innings in two appearances thus far. An Adley Rutschman homer accounts for the only run tallied this spring against the 2022 All-Star.
JR Ritchie (Braves No. 2 prospect) has made a strong impression during his first big league camp, and there’s reason to believe he’ll make his MLB debut at some point this year. But the preference would be to seemingly allow him to gain another month or two of Minor League development before he is promoted.