Atlanta Braves look to lose Mike Foltynewicz for all of April

Pressure could be building now on the Atlanta Braves as the starting rotation is getting thinned quickly.

So while the saying goes that ‘you can never have enough pitching’, it’s truly hard to imagine that it would have applied to the Atlanta Braves here in 2019.

While stranger things have happened, a funny thing is happening to the Braves on their march toward Opening Day.

This was the related tweet from 24 hours ago:

Bowman went into more detail for his MLB.com writeup a bit later (emphasis added):

"Mike Foltynewicz would have been the Braves’ Opening Day starter, but he has not been cleared to throw off a mound since he experienced right elbow soreness following his Feb. 24 spring debut. Foltynewicz has not experienced any discomfort while playing catch over the past week. But he’ll need to complete at least one side session and throw live batting practice before being cleared to make what would likely be four preparatory starts."

That sounds encouraging, but in retrospect, it might not have been a bad idea – 2 months ago – to get his elbow ‘cleaned up’ via an arthroscopic procedure.  That could have put Foltynewicz back onto a mound by now with the problem completely solved.

Ah, hindsight…

Trouble at the Front

So now the Atlanta Braves face some balky arm issues with their 2 top rotation mates:  Folty and Kevin Gausman.

While Gausman’s shoulder was said to be okay, one has to wonder.  He now sports a 27.00 ERA for the Spring… a “Spring” that has consisted of exactly 2 outings to date, totaling 2.0 innings.

In those innings… those with squeamish dispositions should turn away now and scroll down a bit…

• 6 hits
• 2 homers
• 6 runs, all earned
• 1 walk, 1 strikeout
• 3.50 WHIP (Walks + Hits per inning pitched)

Yeah, I know… it’s Spring.  It’s also not nearly what we’d normally expect – or accept.

So now we’re sitting here a scant 12 days from the start of the regular season and now the Braves have to be wondering if they need an insurance policy.

Here’s the rub:  even if they were to jump into the ring to try and bring in Dallas Keuchel or Gio Gonzalez, they haven’t been in a game situation either, and thus their own Opening Day readiness would likely to be pushed back to the middle of April… at least.

So.  It is what it is?

There is a lot of sentiment out on ‘Braves Twitter’ like this right now:

It had been more about Craig Kimbrel, but now the Dallas Keuchel chatter has picked up a bit, thanks to these new revelations.

The tricky part is – and will continue to be – that IF Folty and Gausman are really okay, then they should both be pitching – and pitching well – by the time that a rescuer starting pitcher can get into game-shape to use in the majors.

That’s where the proverbial rock-and-a-hard-place comes in.  You certainly don’t want to break down and sign a pitcher now for the next 3 years or more that you weren’t willing to sign over this entire off-season.

At the same time, you also have to be desperately hoping that the Braves don’t end up digging themselves a hole in April and May that they will have trouble escaping – even with a favorable schedule late in the year.

So I guess it comes down to this:  get well, Folty.  Get well, Kevin.  Quickly.  We need both of you.