Last season, the injury bug played a huge role in Atlanta’s struggles at the plate. While that excuse isn’t there for the lineup here in 2025, it is certainly there for the Atlanta Braves when it comes to their pitching staff. Reynaldo López only lasted a few innings before his injury heralded the beginning of what would be a cursed season for Atlanta’s starting rotation. Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver and López have not only all been injured, they’ve been injured on a long-term basis.
Until tonight, Grant Holmes was the last one standing from the Opening Day rotation. Unless the Braves get some really good news in the future, it’s likely that Holmes will make it 5-for-5 when it comes to Atlanta’s Opening Day rotation going on the shelf. Before getting hit with a liner during the fourth inning of tonight’s loss to the Rangers, Grant Holmes was reportedly complaining of elbow tightness and will be heading to Atlanta for an MRI. Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker shared the news during tonight’s postgame press conference.
Grant Holmes complained of elbow soreness on the pitch before the line drive that hit him in the 4th. He will be placed on the IL with elbow tightness and evaluated further.
— Wiley Ballard (@wileyballard_) July 27, 2025
Assuming the “further evaluation” (aka an MRI) goes the way we all figure it will, this will be yet another tough blow for the Braves to take when it comes to their pitching staff. What makes it even worse is that the earliest that any of these pitchers is likely to return is at some point next month, as Chris Sale is on track for a return to the mound by August. Once he returns, he’ll (hopefully) form a 1-2 punch with Spencer Strider and that 1-2 punch will have to do the heavy lifting for a few weeks until their fellow starters return.
As far as Holmes goes, this is a tough blow for him to take as while he wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire, he had clearly established himself in this rotation. Now, if this is as bad as feared then Holmes is going to have a long road of recovery to traverse before he can make his return. It’s a massive bummer for Holmes and I don’t really envy Atlanta’s front office at the moment as they’ll have to figure out some type of way to keep the rotation afloat while nearly the entire starting rotation is on the shelf. What a season, y’all.
