Spencer Strider on Braves: ‘They can win a World Series without me’

Spencer Strider addressed the media Friday, the first time the Braves right-hander has spoken since his season-ending elbow surgery this month.

He said he had been feeling discomfort in his elbow in spring training.

“To be fully honest, I’ve kind of been feeling some discomfort back in the spring,” Strider said. “Every spring your are building throwing capacity and you are going to deal with some discomfort and soreness. It’s part of why we have spring training, why it’s so long. My results and velocity was good enough that I pushed aside those apocalyptic thoughts in my mind that something was really wrong. My plan was to pitch until I was effective and I ultimately couldn’t.”

Strider underwent surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow with an internal brace, the Braves announced last week.

Instead of undergoing a traditional Tommy John surgery, the 25-year-old Strider and the Braves opted for an internal-brace procedure – which gives added support to the repaired UCL with fiber tape. In 2019, Strider underwent Tommy John surgery while pitching for Clemson, which means he has now had two elbow procedures.

Credit: AJC sports

The general recovery timeline for an internal-brace procedure is around 12 months – shorter than the typical Tommy John rehabilitation process. If Strider’s rehab goes as planned, he would be able to pitch early next season.

Strider said he believes the Braves can reach the ultimate goal with him sidelined.

“They can win a World Series without me,” he said.

For a complete story on what Strider had to say return to ajc.com later today.