LOS ANGELES – When the Braves released their lineup for Thursday’s series opener against the Dodgers, it included all the usual names except one: Ozzie Albies.
Don’t fret. The Braves’ everyday second baseman didn’t re-injure his left hamstring.
The team just gave him a scheduled day off, in accordance with the athletic training staff’s plan.
Braves manager Brian Snitker said the Braves were going to need to sit Albies on either Thursday or Friday. They opted for Thursday because the Dodgers are starting left-hander Julio Urias on Friday, and Albies hits lefties well.
Thus, the Braves started the left-handed hitting Nicky Lopez against Dodgers righty Lance Lynn on Thursday.
Will the Braves need to manage Albies’ workload for the next couple weeks?
“I hope not,” Snitker said. “We’ll use this (Thursday) and then he’ll play three and then have one (off day) Monday, and I’m hoping they’re ready to just turn him loose (after that).”
Monday is an off day for the team. It helps the Braves continue working Albies back into the fold.
They didn’t want to play him seven days in a row after activating him from the injured list. They’re being smart about this.
Albies missed 12 games while dealing with his strained left hamstring.
In three games since returning from the injured list, Albies went 5-for-16.
Rosters expand Friday
Friday is Sept. 1, which is when rosters will expand from 26 to 28 players.
The Braves will be able to add one pitcher and one position player. There is a 14-pitcher maximum – otherwise, most, if not all, teams would use the two extra spots for pitchers.
Could reliever Dylan Lee return?
“He could,” Snitker said.
Lee has been on a rehab assignment since Aug. 5. Pitchers can be on a rehab assignment for a maximum of 30 days.
If all is well with Lee, it’s safe to assume he would be back in the coming days.
Asked if he likes the roster expansion system, Snitker said: “I’m a fan of, if we’re gonna have 28 guys, (I’d like) to divvy it up the way we feel we want to on our roster. I don’t mind the 28 guys, I can live with that. But it would be kind of nice to be able to do with it what we want.”
Rough outing for Wright
On Wednesday, Kyle Wright made his second rehab start.
In a start for Triple-A Gwinnett, Wright allowed three runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings. He walked two batters and struck out one.
Wright threw 31 pitches, and 15 were strikes.
“I didn’t hear anything, I just read the report,” Snitker said. “He kind of struggled a little bit, it looked like. It sounded like he felt OK coming in (Thursday), so that’s always good for these guys. We’ll just see.”
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