NEW YORK (AP) — The Atlanta Braves placed Spencer Strider on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation Saturday, less than 24 hours after the right-hander left his start against the New York Mets.
Manager Walt Weiss said Strider was flying back to Atlanta to undergo an MRI. He added Strider said the discomfort was more in his elbow than the shoulder.
“We’ll have more information — maybe later today or in the morning,” Weiss said before the middle game of the three-game series against the Mets.
Strider, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019 and had the UCL in his right elbow repaired with an internal brace in April 2024, was pulled after his velocity dipped while issuing a six-pitch walk to MJ Melendez leading off the fourth inning.
“The alarm bells went off when we started seeing the upper 80s with his fastball,” Weiss said following Friday night’s 7-5 loss.
Strider allowed six hits and a season-worst seven earned runs in three innings. He allowed three homers, including a grand slam to Bo Bichette in the second inning.
Strider was making his eighth start of the season for the first-place Braves after missing the first 34 games recovering from a strained left oblique. He is 4-2 with a 5.31 ERA this season.
Weiss said JR Ritchie, who threw five scoreless innings on Friday, will move into Strider’s rotation spot. Ritchie, whose scoreless relief stint was the longest by a Braves pitcher since Cristhian Martínez threw five scoreless innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 26, 2011, made five starts for Atlanta earlier this season.
“He’s ready to go,” Weiss said. “So we’ll just plug him in there.”
To replace Strider on the active roster, the Braves recalled right-hander Anthony Molina from Triple-A Gwinnett.
Catcher Drake Baldwin, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at Gwinnett on Saturday. Weiss said Baldwin, who has been sidelined since May 19 with a strained right oblique, is on pace to return during the homestand that begins Tuesday night.
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Atlanta Braves' Spencer Strider (99) pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, June 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) CORRECTION: Atlanta Braves is correct instead of St. Louis Cardinals
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Aldon Smith, the troubled but talented pass rusher whose promising career was derailed by legal problems, has died at age 36.
The San Francisco 49ers announced Smith's death on Saturday night. The team did not disclose a cause of death.
“We are devastated by the sudden and tragic passing of Aldon Smith,” the 49ers said in a statement. “Aldon’s undeniable talent and sheer dominance on the field were on display from the moment he joined our organization, having recorded one of the best rookie seasons the National Football League has seen. Beyond his excellence as a player, Aldon will be remembered for his infectious smile that lit up every room he walked into.”
Smith was drafted by the 49ers with the seventh overall pick out of Missouri in 2011 and made an immediate impact on the team, helping San Francisco snap a playoff drought and reach the NFC title game his first three seasons with one trip to a Super Bowl.
He had 14 sacks as a rookie when he finished second to Von Miller in voting for the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and had a franchise-record 19 1/2 sacks in 2012 when he was named a first-team All-Pro.
His 33 1/2 sacks in his first two seasons are the most in NFL history. He kept that pace up with 4 1/2 sacks in the first three games in 2013 before the off-field issues started with an arrest for DUI and a stint in rehab for substance abuse that sidelined him for five games.
He was also arrested on a weapons charge that season but returned to the field.
“I’m getting there,” he said after his stint in 2013 on the non-football injury list. "Every day’s just a step closer to getting to where I want to be I’ve gotten a lot of support, from my family, friends, organization, teammates and everything. And it really says a lot that people care about me outside the field and they care about me as a person.”
Smith had 3 1/2 sacks in the playoffs that season but was suspended for the first nine games in 2014 and never made it back to his early level of performance because of suspensions and injuries.
San Francisco then released him in August 2015 after another drunken driving charge — his fifth arrest in three years. He signed with Oakland just before the start of the 2015 season and had 3 1/2 sacks in nine games before being suspended again.
“Aldon proudly wore the Silver and Black, was respected by his teammates and will be missed dearly,” the Raiders said in a statement.
Smith applied for reinstatement to the NFL in 2016, but was not allowed back initially. The Raiders released him in 2018 following a domestic violence arrest. A plea agreement was reached in that case.
He eventually was reinstated in 2020 and played 16 games for Dallas that season and had five sacks.
He signed with Seattle the next season but was arrested again for battery and was released in training camp. He served a six-month jail sentence for DUI in 2023 and never played again in the NFL.
Smith finished his career with 52 1/2 sacks in 75 games.
In college he was a first-team All-Big 12 selection and the recipient of Missouri’s Defensive Lineman of the Year Award in 2010.
FILE - This is a 2021 photo of Aldon Smith of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team. This image reflects the Seattle Seahawks active roster as of Monday, June 14, 2021 when this image was taken. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Dallas Cowboys defensive end Aldon Smith (58) celebrates a play against the Pittsburgh Steelers in an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Ron Jenkins, File)
FILE - Oakland Raiders linebacker Aldon Smith (99) sits on the bench during the second half of the team's NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Oakland, Calif., on Sept. 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
