Tom Glavine's Injury Leaves Hole in Braves Rotation

The outlook for the Braves rotation remains muddled with Tom Glavine's latest collapse, an outing which saw him give up four walks, seven hits and seven runs in just four innings in last week's loss to the Cubs.

Struggling with elbow pain, the 42-year-old lefty was unable to achieve much more than 80-mph on his fastball, and he immediately returned to the disabled list to await a probable examination of his torn flexor tendon by famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews.

It could mean the end of his career.

"It's a little sore now," Glavine told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "(I'll) see how it feels tomorrow and the next day. It feels the same as it felt in my two rehab starts."

For the season, Glavine is 2-4 with a 5.54 ERA, and with this latest trouble is the third member of the big three in the Braves rotation to go down succession, John Smoltz and Tim Hudson having been disabled with season-ending surgery. Moreover, Mike Hampton remains a question mark, having surrendered five hits and six runs in four innings in his last outing against the Diamondbacks.

The Braves have called up Matt DeSalvo from Triple A Richmond to replace Glavine, but as a reliever he is no solution in the team's effort to fill out the rotation.