The Atlanta Braves have taken another hit to their starting pitching rotation. After suffering numerous injuries during spring training, the team has lost another starter for the foreseeable future. Gavin Floyd suffered an elbow injury during Thursday's game against the Washington Nationals which could force the Braves to consider making a trade before the MLB deadline.
Floyd has officially been diagnosed with a broken bone in his throwing elbow. The Atlanta Braves announced the pitcher would be headed straight to the disabled list after a curveball to Jayson Werth led to the injury. The right-hander flexed his arm awkwardly after making the pitch, leading to the training staff to come examine him. Floyd has already undergone Tommy John surgery on the same elbow. He started the season in the disabled list and this was his ninth start in his return. Manager Fredi Gonzalez stresses that the two injuries are not related to one another.
Floyd joins Kris Medlen, Brandon Beachy and reliever Cory Gearrin as the Braves pitchers on the disabled list. All three pitchers have been forced to undergo Tommy John surgery following injuries in spring training. Atlanta made up for the depth issue by signing Aaron Harang and Ervin Santana. Losing Floyd means they likely will have to consider making another move before the trade deadline expires.
For the immediate future, the Braves will likely call back up Alex Wood who was a starter at the beginning of the season, but was sent down to the minors following Floyd's return. He will join Julio Teheran, Harang, Santana and Mike Minor in the starting rotation. Is that enough to get past the Washington Nationals who currently lead the NL East by 0.5 games? It might be enough for the team tread water for the time being, but the Braves might need to make a move if Floyd's outlook is not positive.
The Braves could really go multiple directions. They could attempt to trade for someone like Jeff Samardzija from the Chicago Cubs. He is not re-signing and available for deals. The team could try and package together Wood and second baseman Dan Uggla who has been struggling all year. The Braves have attempted to trade Uggla in the past but failed to do so since his stats do not backup his contract. The Cubs price tag on the ace is very high meaning the Braves might not have enough to put something together.
Other starting pitchers on the market include David Price and Cliff Lee, along with James Shields and Cole Hamels. Those options would certainly keep the Braves on pace with the Nationals, but might be too expensive for Atlanta's liking.
