Braves are relying on veteran Chris Sale to provide stability for a rotation ravaged by injuries
ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves are leaning on Chris Sale to provide much-needed stability for a rotation that has been decimated by injuries this spring. Sale, 36, will start Atlanta's season-opening game against Kansas City on Friday night. It will be Sale's second-straight opening day start and seventh of his career.
Sale, who won the 2024 NL Cy Young Award in his first season in Atlanta, has never been more important for a team's hopes entering a season. A devastating series of injuries to starting pitchers has forced first-year manager Walt Weiss and the Braves to remake the rotation behind the left-hander. The bad news began at the start of spring training when right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach was placed on the 60-day injured list due to inflammation in his right elbow.
Schwellenbach had surgery on Feb. 18 to remove “loose bodies” in the elbow and rotation candidate Hurston Waldrep had a similar procedure later in the month. On March 9, the Braves announced left-hander Joey Wentz, another rotation candidate, would miss the season after he tore the ACL in his right knee while covering first base in an exhibition game.
On Monday, the Braves said right-hander Spencer Strider , one of the team's top starters, will start the season on the injured list because of a strained oblique. Schwellenbach and Waldrep could return around the middle of the season. The Braves are hopeful Strider, who was placed on the injured list retroactive to Sunday, may return in April.
For now, Reynaldo Lopez, Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder are expected to line up behind Sale. Rookie Didier Fuentes, who made the opening day roster as a middle reliever after an impressive spring, could be needed as a starter. JR Ritchie, who will open the season at Triple-A Gwinnett, is another option.