KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Orlando Arcia is the latest key Braves player to head to the injured list.
The Braves on Thursday announced that Arcia underwent a CT scan and an MRI revealed a microfracture in his left wrist.
This comes after Arcia’s X-rays came back negative Thursday night. Arcia won’t need surgery on his wrist. The microfracture simply needs time to heal. The Braves didn’t give a specific timetable for his return.
Though not official, Vaughn Grissom seems like the likely option to replace Arcia. Grissom was not in Triple-A Gwinnett’s lineup Thursday, while Braden Shewmake — the other Triple-A shortstop — was in the Stripers’ lineup and starting at shortstop.
This is rough news for Arcia, who won the starting shortstop job out of spring training and had run with the opportunity before this injury. Arcia had excelled at the plate and in the field.
On Wednesday, Reds starter Hunter Greene’s 98 mph fastball struck Arcia on the left wrist. Arcia was in immediate pain, hopping around the batter’s box after the pitch hit his wrist.
He played another defensive inning before the Braves removed him from the game.
Before the injury, Arcia was 15-for-45 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs. His best moment to this point might have come in the home opener at Truist Park on March 30, when he hit a walk-off single to beat the Padres.
Over 41 at-bats at Triple-A this season, Grissom is hitting .366 with a 1.043 OPS. He has two doubles, two triples, a home run and four RBIs.
Another impressive part of his season through a couple of weeks: Grissom has struck out only four times, and has drawn six walks.
Braden Shewmake, the other Gwinnett shortstop, is batting .184 with a .521 OPS over 38 at-bats. He has one homer and eight RBIs.
Grissom and Arcia entered spring training in competition for the starting shortstop job on the opening day roster. In somewhat of a surprise, the Braves chose Arcia. They felt comfortable with his defense. They believed his bat had more in it. They also wanted to keep their depth and allow Grissom and Shewmake to continue developing.
At the time, the Braves knew they could simply reverse course if the results proved they made the wrong decision.
This much soon became clear: Arcia would not prove his doubters correct.
Through the season’s first two weeks, Arcia validated the team’s decision. Not only did he play outstanding defense, but he got off to a hot start at the plate.
Then he encountered an unfortunate situation, and now the Braves will count on Grissom while Arcia’s wrist heals.
The Braves on Friday begin a three-game series in Kansas City.
Anderson’s surgery
Ian Anderson underwent Tommy John surgery, the Braves announced Thursday.
Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, performed the procedure, which was done to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in Anderson’s right elbow.
Meister also performed Tyler Matzek’s Tommy John procedure in October.
The rule-of-thumb timetable for a return for pitchers who undergo this surgery is 12-18 months. That means Anderson almost certainly will miss at least a chunk of next season, if not most of it, depending on how his rehab goes.
