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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 10: Bryce Elder #55 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning at Truist Park on April 10, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The Atlanta Braves are fresh off a series win against the Milwaukee Brewers, and still hold a commanding lead in the NL East, but the Philadelphia Phillies are a surging team in MLB.
On Sunday afternoon, Bryce Elder got the start for the Braves, and he got touched up again, in a continuation of a very poor month of June for the former All-Star player. Over six innings pitched, Elder surrendered eight earned runs. He’s given up at least one home run in each of his past four starts.
In Elder’s last five starts, he’s given up 24 earned runs over 26 innings pitched.
@CrosbyBaseball wrote (during the Braves-Brewers game on Sunday):
“Bryce Elder had a 1.97 ERA on April 27th, going into a start on the road in Boston.
Since then: 22 innings, 24 runs on 34 hits (five homers) and seven walks. That’s an ERA of 9.82”
Those are rough numbers, and now that Elder is wayy less dependable than he was at the start of 2026, it could be pushing the urgency for Atlanta to make a meaningful trade for a #2 starter.
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GettyATLANTA, GEORGIA – JUNE 21: Bryce Elder #55 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the third inning of a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Truist Park on June 21, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda/Getty Images)
This is no slight to the Atlanta Braves rotation, which has been surprisingly good this season, but it appears that players like Bryce Elder is starting to regress down to the mean, and with Atlanta having World Series aspirations, how comfortable will Braves fans really be with Bryce Elder as their second option in October? Especially with Spencer Strider shelved right now.
And beyond Elder, the Braves’ options include Grant Holmes. JR Ritchie and Martin Perez.
Atlanta has been linked to Tarik Skubal as a sleeper team, but other starting-pitcher options that could be available include Sonny Gray, Michael Wacha, Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, and Joe Ryan.
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GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 14: Bryce Elder #55 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on June 14, 2026 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
Bryce Elder was named to the 2023 MLB All-Star team as a starter, but since then, he’s been far from an All-Star pitcher.
To be fair to Elder, he’s been somewhat of a revelation for Atlanta this season with the amount of innings he’s provided, but now with the recent struggles, his start days could be hurting the team.
Currently, Elder holds a 3.71 ERA over 94.2 innings and 79 strikeouts. However, his pWAR is just 0.9.
In 2024, Elder posted an ERA of 6.52 over 1o starts, and in 28 starts in ’25, Elder boasted an earned run average of 5.30, so you can see his normal marks, and where his season could be headed past June.
Over 94 total starts in his career, Bryce Elder holds an ERA of 4.42 with 431 strikeouts and 529.1 total innings pitched.
Stay updated with all the Braves rumors, updates, and news as the MLB trade deadline approaches.
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TJ French covers the MLB for Heavy. TJ is a graduate of the University of Georgia. He has 2+ years of writing experience. Follow TJ French on X: @tj_french5 More about TJ French
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