The Braves gave first baseman Freddie Freeman the day off Wednesday. After arriving late to camp because he tested positive for COVID-19, Freeman had only five days to fully prepare for the season. He’s played in every game thus far, serving as the designated hitter twice.
“It’s just giving him a full day’s rest and try to get him caught up,” manager Brian Snitker said.
Freeman has started slowly, hitting .195/.353/.317 with one homer and seven RBIs through 12 games. He has eight hits in 41 at-bats. Extra rest should benefit Freeman, who rarely takes a day off.
Other notes from Wednesday:
» The Braves placed two players on the injured list Wednesday in Matt Adams, who suffered a hamstring strain Tuesday night, and Ozzie Albies, who’s been playing through a bone bruise in his right wrist.
While it doesn’t apply to Albies, Snitker reiterated his concern about leg injuries popping up because of the shortened revamping period. Rather than a six-week spring training, players had a two-week camp to ready for the 60-game season.
“I was worried when we started on July 3 about the legs,” Snitker said. “We use that entire six weeks, whatever it is with spring training, to gradually (build players up). We control everything going on. It does worry me. I’ve talked to the guys about limiting their legs and time on the field. Do what you have to do before the game, be smart about that. They’re going to have to be smart about the whole thing. The eating, hydration, all that stuff. In talking to all of them, they’re aware of that. But it does bother me.”
» Right-hander Touki Toussaint, who will start Thursday, has added a slider to his repertoire this season. He’s used the pitch 21 times across his first two outings (15 percent of his pitch count). It’s generated a 36.4 whiff percentage.
Toussaint hopes the pitch’s development can help him stick in the Braves’ depleted rotation. Thursday will be his second start since replacing Mike Foltynewicz in the primary five.
“I feel like it’s a pitch that’s really going to help me out, honestly,” Toussaint said. “If something isn’t working, and I have that, you can’t really X-out other pitches. If my curveball wasn’t there, then I was a two-pitch guy. Now I have a slider that I can throw whenever I want. That’s going to make me more effective.”
Toussaint knows the added pressure on the Braves’ starters after Mike Soroka’s season-ending injury. Toussaint, Sean Newcomb and Kyle Wright, who currently fill three of the five spots, need to find better consistency.
“When (Soroka) went down, you just felt the vibes, everybody is like, ‘Alright, I have to step up now,’” Toussaint said. “This is my opportunity to step up. As soon as it happened, everybody knew it was time to step up. You saw Fried (Tuesday) night, I thought he took it upon himself to (win the game).”
