ATLANTA -- The Braves will learn more about Robert Suárez’s potential return from right elbow inflammation when he begins throwing off a mound again early next week. But any lingering hope of Spencer Schwellenbach or Hurston Waldrep returning this year ended on Friday, when the club announced both starting pitchers will undergo surgery.
Waldrep will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Schwellenbach will undergo surgery to repair the same right elbow fracture he suffered when he last pitched in a Major League game on June 28, 2025.
“The guys were going through their throwing progressions,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “At some point, if things aren’t right, they’re going to flare up again. That’s simply what happened with both guys.”
Waldrep, Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider all recently went to the team’s Spring Training complex in Florida. There has been an assumption Strider suffered a season-ending injury when he exited his June 12 start with right elbow inflammation.
But when asked about Strider, Weiss simply said time is running out.
Fortunately, Suárez still has time to return for the regular season and potentially be one of the team’s most important pieces during the postseason. The right-handed reliever hasn’t pitched since June 19 when his right elbow began bothering him. He posted a 0.56 ERA through 31 appearances before going on the injured list.
Suárez has been throwing pain-free on flat ground from a distance of 120 feet. The real hurdle will come next week when he begins testing his arm while throwing on the mound’s downward plane.
After missing last season’s final three months with a fractured elbow, Schwellenbach underwent surgery in February to remove bone spurs from the same pitching elbow. There was some hope he might return at some point during this season’s second half. But his progression was repeatedly stalled.
Waldrep had loose bodies removed from his right elbow in February. He returned on June 26 and pitched 29 innings between the Minors and Majors this year. But he hasn’t pitched since removing himself from a July 19 start for Triple-A Gwinnett with elbow discomfort.