The Braves made the announcement Monday Austin Riley he was diagnosed with a broken right hand which will sideline him for six to eight weeks. With less than six weeks left in the regular season, it could be a season-ending injury for the two-time All-Star. Riley was hit by a pitch in yesterday’s game, and while the initial images were inconclusive, an MRI done Monday revealed a fracture. Atlanta will likely make a corresponding plan to put Riley on the injured list and bring up another linebacker (eg. Nacho Alvarez Jr.).
Atlanta also announced that right-hander Reynaldo Lopez he was put back on the injured list, right-handed Jimmy Herget optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett instead. He has been out since August 2 due to swelling in his right arm.
Losing Riley is another blow to a Braves club that has been plagued by major injuries all season. Even on Opening Day, Atlanta lost its grip Sean Murphy in a tilt problem that ended up costing him almost two months of the season. That set the tone for the 2024 campaign you’ve seen Spencer Strider (torn UCL and internal brace surgery), Ronald Acuna Jr. (ruptured ACL), Ozzie Albies (broken wrist), AJ Minter (hip surgery) and Michael Harris II (Grade 2 hamstring strain) all endured very, if not season-ending injuries.
Riley, 27, hasn’t been at his best all season but, so far, has been in the lineup almost every day. He has also picked up the pace a lot since the bad start to the season. Riley posted a horrendous .228/.295/.353 slash in the month of June … and since then he’s hit .275/.339/.531 right in line with his career averages. In a system that has always lacked top batsmen, he has been consistent with the designated hitter. Marcell Ozuna. Now, it’s possible that Riley’s 2024 season will end with 110 games played — though some wording in the team’s announcement leaves the door open for Riley to possibly play a few games in late September if he recovers faster than expected again. the Braves are in contention for the Wild Card.
In some ways, the fact that the Braves still have a Wild Card spot is amazing. Strider pitched in just two games and gave up seven runs in nine innings before being shelved with a season-ending hamstring injury. Acuna only played in 49 games. Acuna, Albies (90), Harris (72) and Murphy (50) all played in less than 100 of the Braves’ 124 games this season.
While the Braves have had some bad luck with injuries, they have also had a lot of positives. Atlanta probably didn’t just have a healthy season Chris Sale but it’s a vintage, Cy Young-caliber showing from the 35-year-old lefty, who has pitched just 10 fewer innings this season than he did in the entire four-year period leading up to the 2024 season. The right hand Spencer Schwellenbach started and exceeded expectations. Reynaldo Lopez he probably went from reliever to Cy Young-caliber results himself.
Still, losing Riley is a bummer, especially considering how well he’s been hitting since the calendar turned to June. The top of the Braves’ order will now need to rely on the aforementioned Ozuna, taking the deadline. Jorge Soler and three stars who have struggled through the seasons: Harris, Murphy and Matt Olson. Atlanta has seen strong production of some bargain-bin pickups Ramon Laureano again Whit Merrifieldbut the offense they host at night moving forward will not match the strength they were expected to produce this season.
Riley will likely be replaced by some combination of Alvarez and Luke Williamsnone of them seemed comfortable against the big team this season. Alvarez, who will be the organization’s MVP, has just 38 games of Triple-A experience. He hit well there, but the 21-year-old went 3-30 for the first time this summer and may still need more time to develop. He had never played above A ball before 2024. Williams is 2 for 17 in the majors this season. The 28-year-old has seen action in parts of four major league campaigns and has hit .218/.277/.284 in 283 trips to the plate.
At seven games back and still down another star player, Atlanta doesn’t have much of a way to overtake the Phillies for the NL East crown. The Braves currently hold the final NL Wild Card spot but are only two games back of the division rival Mets and four games back of the Giants. The Cardinals, Cubs and Rs are all within six games of that final postseason berth.
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