Braves catcher Manny Pina will undergo wrist surgery and miss the rest of the season, manager Brian Snitker said Wednesday.
Pina, 34, has been on the injured list since April 25 with left wrist inflammation. He experienced discomfort while trying to rehab the injured wrist, which led to the veteran undergoing an MRI on Monday.
“He has ligament and cartilage damage,” Snitker said. “He’s going to be operated on here coming up, and he’ll miss the rest of the year. He’ll be ready for spring training.”
Over the winter, the Braves signed Pina to a two-year, $8 million deal with a club option. Catcher was a turnstile for the Braves last season when starter Travis d’Arnaud was out injured for months. The team signed Pina to secure a steady backup.
“We got him for a reason, having an experienced catcher like that,” Snitker said when asked if losing Pina was a big blow. “We’re fortunate to have William (Contreras), and (Chadwick) Tromp is down in Triple-A who has major-league experience. As we saw last year, we went through I think eight catchers. You can never have too many of those guys.”
Pina appeared in only five games during his first season with the Braves, going 2-for-14 (.143). The Braves now turn to youngster Contreras as their primary reserve behind d’Arnaud. Contreras is the only other backstop on the 40-man roster.
“William is going to get a chance to play a pretty good amount,” Snitker said. Contreras is 4-for-16 with three homers and six RBIs this season. Contreras, 24, is the top young catcher in the organization after the Braves traded Shea Langeliers to Oakland in the deal to acquire All-Star first baseman Matt Olson.
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