Another Spencer Strider implosion makes uncomfortable 2026 truth much clearer

The 2025 season has been one to forget for the Atlanta Braves, as their 56-68 record entering Monday's action would suggest. Spencer Strider's struggles are only making things worse for Braves fans, and he had another rough outing on Monday. Facing the 44-80 Chicago White Sox at home, Strider allowed seven runs on 10 hits including a pair of home runs. Six of the seven runs he allowed came in the fourth inning - a frame in which he failed to record a single out.

Strider now has a 5.24 ERA in 17 starts and 89.1 innings of work. Notably, he's already allowed 17 home runs, just five shy of the mark he allowed in 2023, a season in which he made 32 starts and threw 186.2 innings.

To put it bluntly, Strider doesn't look anything like the dominant force he was before undergoing internal brace procedure last season. This reality should force the Braves into an uncomfortable realization; Strider cannot be trusted as a frontline starter.

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Braves cannot enter 2026 season expecting Spencer Strider of old to return

Strider has struck out a good amount of batters, but his 26.9 percent strikeout rate entering Monday's action, while above-average, is a far cry from his career mark of 34.7 percent. Strider led the league with 281 strikeouts in 2023, striking out nearly 100 more batters than innings pitched. Now, he's struck out just 13 more batters than innings pitched.

His stuff is just nowhere near as dynamic as it once was. His velocity is down from where it was, and his slider isn't nearly as sharp as it once was. I mean, this statistic is pretty telling regarding where his slider is as a pitch right now.

It's fair to expect pitchers to take some time to ease back into things coming off a major injury. I mean, Sandy Alcantara has looked like a shell of himself this season for the Miami Marlins. Perhaps Strider will find it in 2026, but he's also been back for a while now. 17 starts is not a microscopic sample size, and he looks completely lost.

I'm not here to say Strider will never recapture his previous form, but he has to show that he's capable of doing so before the Braves expect it. This isn't a conversation anyone wants to have, but it's one the Braves must have if they want to win in 2026.

Braves 2026 rotation is full of major question marks

There are reasons to believe that the Braves can rediscover their winning ways in 2026, and their rotation is perhaps the biggest reason why, but there's no disputing that it's full of questions even beyond Strider.

Chris Sale will be 37 years old next season, and his injury history is lengthy. Spencer Schwellenbach looks like an ace when healthy, but he's out likely for the remainder of the season with a fractured elbow - who knows what he'll look like when he returns? Reynaldo Lopez figures to be healthy next season, but he'll have gone a full season without throwing a pitch. Grant Holmes hopes to be healthy after suffering a season-ending elbow injury, but again, the injury concerns are there with him too. AJ Smith-Shawver is out for the year. Hurston Waldrep finishing strongly would give the Braves an exciting arm to dream of, but he lacks much experience to make him fully trustworthy.

The pieces are there for the Braves' rotation to be strong, but there are major health and performance concerns. Strider, obviously, fits in both categories now.

Might this result in Alex Anthopoulos signing a starter in free agency? That remains to be seen, but every start Strider struggles in adds to the argument that he probably should.