AJ Smith-Shawver Injury: Kicking off rehab stint Thursday

Smith-Shawver (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment Thursday at Atlanta's spring training facility in Florida, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The 23-year-old right-hander is set to throw 35-to-40 pitches over two innings in a simulated game. Smith-Shawver is heading into the final stretch of his recovery from June 2025 Tommy John surgery, and he's on track to be an option for Atlanta's big-league rotation sometime after the All-Star break. Over his first seven starts in 2025 prior to developing elbow trouble, Smith-Shawver had a 2.33 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 40:17 K:BB in 38.2 innings.