Braves trade rumors: Gavin Floyd breaks elbow, likely out for significant period

Braves' right-hander Gavin Floyd has been diagnosed with a broken olecranon bone in his right pitching elbow, according to a team announcement. Floyd, who will be immediately placed on the disabled list, was removed from his start on Thursday with the injury and will have imaging tests in Atlanta on Friday.

While a timetable for Floyd's return is not yet known, it is expected to be a significant absence from the Braves' rotation. As Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports pointed out on Twitter, the only other pitcher in recent memory to suffer the injury was Joel Zumaya, who missed the remainder of the 2010 season after breaking his olecranon in late June.

Floyd, who signed a one-year deal with the during the offseason, was pitching very well for the Braves, earning a 2.98 ERA in eight starts prior to the injury. In the absence of starters Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, Floyd has been an unexpected surprise for the Braves and will be missed in a rotation that will now likely include left-hander Alex Wood in addition to Julio Teheran, Mike Minor, Ervin Santana and Aaron Harang.

As Jon Morosi of FOXSports.com reported last week, the Braves have been receiving interest in Floyd and Harang due to the emergence of Wood as a capable starter at Triple-A. Both Floyd and Harang are free agents after the season and could be valuable rental pieces for contenders, so the Braves were considering dealing from a position of strength and moving Wood into the starting rotation. Now, with Floyd likely missing the remainder of the season, a trade involving him is extremely unlikely, and the team will probably keep Harang as well with Wood already in the starting five.