I imagine that we all prepared for this news since he left the match on Thursday early. This was particularly the case after it was reported that Braves of Atlanta Leaving AJ Smith-Shawver told Brian Snitker that he felt a “pop” in his elbow and that once he had become clear that Spencer Strider had a careful eye to notice that something was really wrong with Smith-Shawver.
The brave returned AJ Smith-Shawver to Atlanta so that he could obtain an MRI and it turned out that the MRI confirmed the worst fears of everyone. Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that J Smith-Shawver has a torn UCL in his launch arm and it is very likely that we are not going to see AJSS on the mound for the brave until that time in 2026.
Smith-Shawver has a torn UCL. They did not determine if he will suffer Tommy John or the internal agitation procedure
– Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 30, 2025
It is interesting that they did not understand if they will do Tommy John or the procedure of the internal splint. I would be ready to guess that Spencer Strider probably already talked with AJ Smith-Shawver of the advantages and disadvantages of each procedure, but in the end, it will be intelligent people with medical diplomas to decide what will be the best way to go for the recruit.
For AJ Smith-Shawver, this is a fairly difficult way for what looked like a very promising season to end. He will finish the season with an MPM of 3.86 (94 ERA) and a FIP of 3.84 (99 FIP-) on 44.1 sleeves launched. The good news is that, despite the fact that he has the impression that he has existed for some time, he is only 22 years old, so for all that we know, it could end up being just a nasty bump on the road for the AJS. For the moment, all we can do is simply wait patiently, because another of the promising players of Atlanta, the young and talented, will take place for a long time on the sidelines. I hope he will come back and continue his ascent to become a reliable starter for Atlanta in the future.
