Mere days since making his return to the majors after undergoing elbow surgery roughly a year ago, Spencer Strider, ace of the Atlanta Braves, is again on the injured list due to a strained right hamstring. The Braves have made this move retroactive to April 18 and have brought up right-hander Michael Petersen to fill his spot on the active roster. Strider experienced this injury while playing catch on Monday.

The rotation for the Atlanta team is also missing Reynaldo López, who is recovering from arthroscopic shoulder surgery performed in early April.

Strider, aged 26, seemed strong in his most recent outing, allowing two runs over five hits in five innings against the Blue Jays on April 16, recording five strikeouts against one walk in that start.

Strider endured setbacks in his previous season, leading to an internal-brace procedure on his UCL, which usually has a quicker recovery period than Tommy John surgery. Given his history, the Braves took a cautious approach to his comeback. In the combined seasons of 2022 and 2023, he had a notable performance with a 2.43 FIP across 318 and a third innings, striking out 37.4% of batters faced. When fully fit, Strider is often considered a prime Cy Young contender in the National League, making his absence a significant loss for the Braves, who entered the night of Monday’s series opener against the Cardinals with a disappointing 8-13 record.