NORTH PORT, Fla. — Atlanta Braves right-handed starter Spencer Schwellenbach had surgery Wednesday to clean up “loose bodies” in his pitching elbow, and rotation candidate Hurston Waldrep is scheduled to undergo a similar procedure next week.
While the Braves didn’t reveal a timeline for when those pitchers could be available, Atlanta first-year manager Walt Weiss told reporters Wednesday from the team’s preseason base in Florida that he is hopeful both will be able to pitch this season.
The regular-season opener for the Braves is March 27 against the Kansas City Royals at Atlanta’s Truist Park.
Schwellenbach was placed on the 60-day injured list on Feb. 10, at the start of spring training, because of inflammation in his right elbow. The 25-year-old was 7-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 17 starts last year before missing the final three months of the season because of a broken right elbow.
Waldrep, the Braves’ first-round pick out of the University of Florida in the 2023 MLB draft, experienced discomfort after throwing batting practice over the weekend. An MRI showed no ligament damage for the right-hander, who turns 24 on March 1.
Before getting hurt last season, Schwellenbach was 6-1 with a 2.60 ERA over his final 10 starts, with the Braves winning eight of those games, and he had 71 strikeouts and 11 walks in 69 1/3 innings over that stretch. His MLB debut was in 2024, when he was 8-7 with a 3.35 ERA in 21 starts.
A day earlier, the Braves added veteran first baseman and outfielder Dominic Smith to their big league camp as a nonroster invitee to spring training. Smith, 30, will provide depth behind starting first baseman Matt Olson as well as a possible option in left field or at designated hitter.
Smith, who played his first six seasons in the majors with the New York Mets from 2017-22, hit .284 with five homers and 33 RBIs in 63 games with the San Francisco Giants last season. He also has played for the Washington Nationals (2023), Boston Red Sox (2024) and Cincinnati Reds (2024).
Smith is a .250 career hitter in nine MLB seasons. He has 69 homers, including a career-high 12 for the Nationals in 2023.