Atlanta Braves pitcher Brandon Beachy needs Tommy John surgery

Spring Training has been an utter disaster for the Atlanta Braves from a standpoint of health, and that torture continued with an announcement about right-hander Brandon Beachy on Thursday.

First, the Braves lost Kris Medlen to a second Tommy John surgery just over a week ago, and while they quickly replaced him by signing Ervin Santana, Beachy followed suit with an arm problem just hours later. At first, it looked as if the Braves faded the issue by diagnosis Beachy with a bicep problem, but things spiraled from there, and after visits with two different specialists (including Dr. James Andrews), the team settled on Tommy John surgery for the 27-year-old hurler.

The Braves are short on starting pitching at this stage (even after the Santana signing), as Beachy was set to contend for a role in the rotation and incumbent “ace” Mike Minor is still out with a shoulder problem. Expectations were fairly low for Beachy coming off his initial Tommy John surgery with a limited track record prior to injury, but at the same time, the right-hander presented some serious upside (career strikeout rate of 9.25 K/9), and this is still a significant loss.