AJ Smith-Shawver has a torn UCL in his throwing arm, per report

I’d imagine that we’ve all been bracing ourselves for this news since he left Thursday’s game early. This was especially the case after it was reported that Atlanta Braves starter AJ Smith-Shawver told Brian Snitker that he felt a “pop” in his elbow and also once it became clear that Spencer Strider had a keen eye for noticing that something was really wrong with Smith-Shawver.

The Braves returned AJ Smith-Shawver to Atlanta so that he could get an MRI and as it turned out, the MRI confirmed everybody’s worst fears. Mark Bowman of MLB.com is reporting that AJ Smith-Shawver does indeed have a torn UCL in his throwing arm and it’s very likely that we’re not going to see AJSS on the mound for the Braves until this time in 2026.

It is interesting that they haven’t figured out if they’re going to do Tommy John or the internal brace procedure. I’d be willing to guess that Spencer Strider has probably already talked with AJ Smith-Shawver about the pros and cons of each procedure but ultimately it’ll be up to smart folks with medical degrees to decide what the best path forward will be for the rookie hurler.

For AJ Smith-Shawver, this is a pretty rough way for what was looking like a very promising season for him to end. He will finish the season with a 3.86 ERA (94 ERA-) and a 3.84 FIP (99 FIP-) over 44.1 innings pitched. The good news is that despite the fact that it feels like he’s been around for a while, he’s still only 22-years-old so for all we know, this might end up being just a pretty nasty bump in the road for AJSS. For now, all we can do is just wait patiently as yet another one of Atlanta’s promising young-and-talented players will be set for an extensive period on the sidelines. Hopefully he’ll return and continue his ascension towards becoming a reliable starter for Atlanta going forward.

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