Atlanta Braves: Great news for Luiz Gohara as he works his way back to the mound
By Jeff Schafer
Braves LHP Gohara making strides to be back on the field
On Saturday, we heard news out of the Atlanta Braves Spring Training camp that left-handed pitcher Luiz Gohara was dealing with a left strained groin. No timetable was set for his return, but we received positive news on Monday morning.
Alan wrote the post on Saturday explaining the details of this injury, but it doesn’t seem serious for the big 6’3″ 210-pound lefty. The good news is, as you’ll see below what manager Brian Snitker said about the injury, it’s not his arm…
“The good thing is it’s not his arm, so he’s still throwing, he’s playing catch. We’ve just got to get him some [side sessions], live BP and stuff like that before we get him out there in a game. He’s getting better. They say it’s a day-to-day thing and that’s pretty much what it is.”
Snitker told that to the media this weekend and that made us breathe a little bit about the injury. This morning, we exhaled even more. Though Gohara may be a week or so behind, it looks as though he could still be on path to make the starting rotation out of camp.
Gohara will throw a bullpen today. He says he tweaked his left groin while running last week.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) February 26, 2018
Okay, Braves beat writer Mark Bowman tweets out that Gohara will throw a bullpen today (Monday). Great news! This is the first step of many, but hey it’s a step in the right direction.
The 21-year-old entered the 2018 Spring Training as one of the favorites to make the Braves starting five. He made five starts in Atlanta in 2017 and held a 4.91 ERA with 31 strikeouts and eight walks. He showed great promise in these starts.
The other thing to look at is the Braves have two off-days scheduled within the 2018 regular season’s first eight days. That means that the Braves have the option of using just a four-man rotation until the date of April 11. This gives Gohara an extra week or so that he’s “behind”.
If Gohara has a setback with this injury, the Braves have Max Fried, Lucas Sims and/or Scott Kazmir that could fill out the rotation. Hopefully Gohara can push this injury behind him and get back out there. I’m pumped about his opportunities to have a big year in 2018.
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Though it’s just a bullpen, I consider this fantastic news! He could be pitching in a Spring Training game in the next week or two.