Braves left-hander Joey Wentz The anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee was ruptured and he will miss the entire 2026 season. Among those reporting the news was MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Wentz will be moved to the 60-day injured list whenever the club needs roster space. However, their 40-man roster is currently at 39 due to the outfield. Jurickson Profar I was placed on the PED suspension restricted list.
Wentz, 28, appeared to injure his right leg while covering first base while attempting a bunt in yesterday’s game. He was taken off the field, but early testing suggests he may have avoided serious injury. Additional testing seems to contradict the first report.
The left-handed pitcher applied for exemption in July of last year and was virtually inserted into the rotation from that point on. He made 13 starts and one relief appearance for Atlanta, allowing 4.92 earned runs per nine. His 23% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate are both close to league average. He qualified for arbitration as a Super Two player and the club felt enough about that performance to sign him. The two sides avoided arbitration by agreeing to an annual salary of $900,000 for 2026 last November.
As of a few weeks ago, Wentz was a bit buried on the depth chart, but Atlanta’s rotation has taken a huge hit since camp opened. Spencer Schwellenbach and hurston world rep Both pitchers each needed surgery a few weeks ago because they had loose elbows that needed to be removed. Each is expected to miss several months, although the specific timeline is not clear.
After two surgeries, Atlanta expected four positions to be replaced. chris sale, spencer strider, Reynaldo Lopez and grant holmes. That leaves Wentz. Bryce Elder and Jose Suarez Fight for the last place. Since all three had no choice, one of them was set to break camp, possibly in a long-term relief role.
There will be more to come.
