(UPDATED: 11:12 p.m.)

This may not explain all of Dan Uggla's hitting problems in his 2½ seasons with the Braves but it certainly can be blamed for part of the issue: The Braves' struggling second baseman has been having some vision problems.

Braves assistant hitting coach Scott Fletcher first disclosed to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution before Thursday night's game against the New York Mets that Uggla was having his eyes examined by a doctor Thursday and left open the possibility that the player may need to have Lasik surgery. Uggla, who is hitting only .194 and has a team-high 92 strikeouts, was not in the starting lineup for a game against the New York Mets and had not yet arrived at Turner Field when the Braves were taking batting practice. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said only that Uggla was excused for a personal matter.

Uggla confirmed after the game that he started having vision problems "late last year" and was diagnosed with astigmatism in spring training, but wasn't overly concerned until recently. He was fitted for new contact lenses Thursday and said he will try those for a while before considering Lasik surgery.

"They told me I had a slight stigmatism in spring training but I was like, ‘Ah, whatever,’" Uggla said. "I guess now looking back I kind of noticed it last year. It was harder to focus, even on the field. This year I was just trying to battle through it, thinking, ‘Oh, it's gonna come [around] like it always does,’ not thinking, ‘Maybe I’m not seeing the ball.’ But after bailing out on so many curveballs and taking so many front-door sliders and hanging sliders, I thought, 'Let me go get this checked out because something’s not right.' On video, the balls I’m ducking out of the way on aren’t really that close."

When asked about Uggla's hitting problems before the game, Fletcher said, "Well, now you have the situation with his eyes. His vision – it’s something that’s been bothering him for a while and only now is it something he’s really taking care of.

“He went to the eye doctor today and he might end up having to do Lasik. … I think they’re just trying to see if he’s a candidate right now. There’s certain balls and stuff he said he wasn’t seeing well. At times he’s flinching on balls that are good pitches and it’s like, ‘Why am I not seeing that ball better?’ So we’ll see how it goes with that.”

For more on this, see the full column on MyAJC.com.