Foltynewicz hospitalized with blood clots in right arm

ATLANTA -- The Braves were looking forward to the opportunity to see Mike Foltynewicz make at least a couple more relief appearances over the season's final weeks. But they are now simply concerned about the health of their talented young pitcher, who has been hospitalized because of blood clots in his right arm.

Foltynewicz felt some discomfort on Thursday and was rushed to the emergency room when he arrived at Turner Field on Friday with redness and swelling around his right arm. He has since remained at Piedmont Hospital to undergo further evaluations.

"We're just trying to evaluate where it would go from here," Braves assistant general manager John Coppolella said. "Our first and foremost thoughts are just for his health and that he is OK. As we keep going through this, we should learn more going forward."

While a specific cause has not been pinpointed, Coppolella said the team has been told that this condition was not related to the case of pneumonia that has sidelined Foltynewicz since he was unable to make his Sept. 2 start.

"He had some pain on Thursday night and he came in on Friday and his arm and had swelled," Coppolella said. " At that point he was rushed to the emergency room. He's been there since. We're just waiting to see what happens next."

Foltynewicz was one of the three prospects the Braves acquired when they sent Evan Gattis to the Astros in January. He made his Atlanta debut on May 1 and spent the next six weeks posting a 5.19 ERA over nine starts.

After spending most of the next six weeks with Triple-A Gwinnett, Foltynewicz returned to Atlanta's rotation and produced a 6.47 ERA over six starts. He said that he started to battle some fatigue and congestion around Aug. 16. But he was not diagnosed with pneumonia until the first week of September.

Though Foltynewicz was not going to have enough time to build his endurance to be used as a starting pitcher again this season, the Braves had been planning to bring him out of their bullpen over the next couple of weeks.