Braves manager Walt Weiss informed reporters, including Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that right-hander Bryce Elder had knee surgery today and will need about three to four weeks of recovery time. Specifically, the procedure removed bone fragments from his right knee, per Bishop. He has not yet been placed on the injured list but that should happen soon.
The knee issue has been bugging Elder for a little while. In a column from two weeks back, Bishop relayed that Elder mentioned the soreness first cropped up after his July 9 start in Pittsburgh. Elder pitched well after that and only experienced discomfort between starts, so the club kept running him out there.
Yesterday, it was reported that Atlanta would bump Elder to the bullpen, at least temporarily. With Reynaldo López returning from the IL due to his own knee issue tomorrow, the hope was to reduce Elder’s workload and the resultant wear-and-tear on his knee.
It seems the plan has quickly changed, as Elder has gone under the knife. In the grand scheme of things, it seems it’s a relatively minor procedure, as far as baseball surgeries go. Still, it’s going to make him questionable for the rest of the season. There are less than three weeks left in the regular season schedule now. The team is cruising to a playoff spot and could even secure a first-round bye, but Elder’s status will be up in the air for the time being.
On the whole, Elder is having a pretty solid season, though not always in consistent fashion. He has allowed 4.11 earned runs per nine innings over his 26 starts. He started out really strong, posting a 1.97 ERA through 11 starts, but then he had an 8.47 ERA over his next seven. That took him to the All-Star break, which seemed to help him get back on track. He had a 1.88 ERA in four starts after the break but then a 6.45 ERA in the next four.
If Elder comes back and rejoins the club, it could be as a reliever. Atlanta’s rotation consists of Chris Sale, Tyler Mahle, Grant Holmes, Martín Pérez and AJ Smith-Shawver, with López set to jump into that group tomorrow. Sale is locked into the playoff rotation. Mahle should have a spot as well, as he has been great since being acquired ahead of the trade deadline. Time will tell who else gets the ball in playoff situations but Elder probably won’t have enough time to both get healthy and fully stretched out.
Ideally, Elder’s knee can be fully healthy for the 2027 season, which could perhaps help him find more consistency. He had a 3.81 ERA in 2023 but then was at 6.52 and 5.30 in the next two campaigns. As mentioned, this year has been fairly decent on the whole but in seesaw fashion. He is out of options but can be controlled for three seasons after this one. He will qualify for arbitration for the first time this winter.
Photo courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images
