The Braves placed outfielder Marcell Ozuna on the 10-day injured list Friday with two fractured left fingers (middle and ring). The move is retroactive to Wednesday.
Ozuna injured his fingers as his hand appeared to get caught on Rafael Devers’ foot as Ozuna was trying to slide into third base Tuesday night during the Braves’ series in Boston. Losing the slugger is a big blow to the Braves’ offense, which had been rounding into form before he was hurt. The team was fresh off outscoring Pittsburgh 33-3 in the past three games. The Braves defeated the Red Sox during the game in which Ozuna was injured, but they lost the following evening, splitting a pair at Fenway Park.
Ozuna, who the team re-signed to a four-year, $65 million deal over the winter, was hitting .213/.288/.356 with seven homers and 26 RBIs in 48 games. They now will be without him for roughly six weeks.
Utilityman Ehire Adrianza, who’s performed admirably in a bench role, will handle left field on a regular basis for now, manager Brian Snitker said. Adrianza, 31, has hit .239/.278/.437 with three doubles, three homers and 17 RBIs across 35 games this season. He’s aided the Braves’ depth, which was among their chief concerns entering the season.
“I’m going to let (Adrianza) have some time out there,” Snitker said. “We’ll use them all. But he’s done a really good job. He filled in for Ronald (Acuna in center) in New York in that series (against the Yankees). He’s been a good piece for us. We’ll let him have a few cracks at it. ... I watched video of him in left field with Minnesota. He’s played some center. He’s an athletic guy. He’s had some big hits for us. We’ll give him that opportunity.”
The Braves opted for Adrianza in left instead of moving Austin Riley from third base to the outfield, as they’ve done in the past. The team loves Riley’s defense at third, and with his recent surge at the plate over the past month, there’s no reason to unnecessarily disrupt their blossoming slugger.
“He is such a good defensive third baseman,” Snitker said. “He plays Gold Glove(-caliber) third, for me. It’s hard when (Nolan) Arenado is there (in the National League) to crack that, but he is a Gold Glove third baseman in my opinion. He’s a baseball player, too. I have no problem putting him in the outfield. You see as we shift and put him in short right, he looks good. He turned a double play the other day and looked like a shortstop. He’s just a really athletic guy.”
Infielder Johan Camargo was recalled to fill the open roster spot. Camargo is still looking for his first hit on the season, going 0-for-13 in 11 games.
