All-Star Pitcher With An Injury Talks About Her Arms
Over the weekend, the Atlanta Braves learned some encouraging news. A bone particle that became lodged in Spencer Strider’s UCL caused damage to it. He won’t be able to play for the remainder of the year, but he might be back in around a year, rather than after the 2025 All-Star break. The Texas Rangers team physician, Dr. Keith Meister, is an orthopedic surgeon with expertise in elbow surgeries. He was able to execute an internal brace technique instead of a full Tommy John surgery. For the first time since missing his start on April 5 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Strider spoke with media over the weekend.
He spoke extensively on a variety of subjects, but one in particular stuck out. Strider was speaking about raising awareness of pitcher injuries rather than the damage and healing process.
Speaking about the “Injury Epidemic,” Spencer Strider
Strider talked about the debate surrounding what some have dubbed a throwing injury epidemic. He disagreed with those who said that pitching with a “max effort” is the main contributing factor.
“I will sit down and have this conversation if you have three hours to spare,” the 25-year-old stated. “I don’t want to make a sound bite that someone can use to transform something.” There are a ton of factors involved. What a complicated scenario it is. Furthermore, I believe that what has frustrated me is when I read or hear others suggest that there is only one issue or that they somehow know why injuries are occurring. We wouldn’t have them if we knew.
Strider finished 20-5 with 281 strikeouts in his previous season, making him Atlanta’s top starting pitcher. He was the big league leader in strikeouts as well as victories. In 318 1/3 innings pitched throughout the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he recorded a 3.36 ERA. Right-hander Darius Cines has been called upon by Atlanta to take Strider’s place in the rotation.
Some People Were Surprised by Strider’s X-rays
To the amazement of many in the room, Strider’s X-rays revealed the bone fragment after he emerged from his start.
Strider remarked, “It looked like I broke my humerus, like I broke the tip of my humerus.” It is the upper arm bone that has a UCL connecting it to the forearm bone. “And in my arm, there’s this large bone swimming around. To figure out what it was, we had to complete all the imaging, and then we had to enter the area to see what was actually happening.
The following day, Strider went to see Meister to get a second opinion after receiving an MRI. He is renowned for having performed a contemporary Tommy John procedure that includes the use of an internal brace. In certain situations, such as when Strider’s injury is akin to the UCL being partially torn, he uses it without Tommy John. Regaining full strength following two Tommy John operations is not as successful as recovering from the first procedure. The good news is that Strider is expected to return soon.
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