Braves ace Spender Strider will mi s the rest of the season as another one of MLBs top pitchers has fallen victim to in the pitch-clock era. Strider underwent surgery to repair theulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow with internal brace, the Braves announced Saturday. The surgery was performed Friday by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Tex. Strider led the majors in wins (20) and strikeouts (281) while pitching to a 3.86 ERA in 186 2/3 innings in 2023, but he barely got out of the gates in what would have been his third full MLB season. He struck out 12 but allowed seven runs in nine innings over what will Mauricio Dubon Jersey be his only two starts. Spencer Strider will mi s the rest of the season for the Braves. Getty Images The flame-throwing 25-year-old right-hander reported feeling elbow discomfort during an abbreviated outing on April 5. His velocity was noticeably down. One day later, Braves manager Brian Snitker said that what the MRI showed wasnt good. Within a week, Strider was under the knife. Striders injury not only changes the landscape of the National League who can challenge the Dodgers? but opens a window for the Mets and Phillies atop the NL East. Explore More On a larger scale, Striders injury also continues an alarming early-season trend of aces on the shelf. Strider joins the Guardians Shane Bieber, Red Sox Lucas Giolito, Dodgers Shohei Ohtani and the Marlins duo of Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez as pitchers who are out for the season. The list could grow because several other high-end starters are sidelined with elbow or shoulder injuries and their return timelines are murky: the Yankees Gerrit Cole, Mets Kodai Senga, Astros Justin Verlander, Mariners Robbie Ray, Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, Brewers Brandon Woodruff, Diamondbacks Eduardo Rodriguez and Rangers teammates Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom are not pitching. There is a raging debate over whether MLBs implementation of a pitch clock is to blame. Or is it mere coincidence and higher velocity and spin rates are at the root of the i sue? MLBs recent dismi sal of the pitch clock as a potential cause angered players like Cole. Its shortsighted, said Cole, a former member of the players unions eight-person subcommittee. We are going to really understand the effects of what the pitch clock is maybe five years down the road, but to dismi s it out of hand, I didnt think that was helpful to the situation. Braves ace Spencer Strider Getty Images Coles former Astros teammate Verlander had a different take, claiming it would be easiest to blame the pitch clock. Everybody [is] throwing as hard as they po sibly can and spinning the ball as hard as they po sibly can, Verlander said, attributing that as the pitchers response to MLBs change in baseballs a few years ago that allowed more batters to put up big home run totals. The Braves, whose ace becomes Max Fried, need to pivot long before the debate is settled. [Strider] is so dedicated to his craft, Snitker said recently. He loves everything about this. He does everything right from being a great teammate to just all the dedication. I really hate this for him because he enjoys it so much. Ivan Rodriguez Jersey