At the beginning of his daily Zoom conference, Braves manager Brian Snitker provided updates on each of the team’s injured players Friday afternoon.
Outfielder Ronald Acuna missed the past two games in New York and wasn’t in Miami for this weekend’s series after he experienced soreness in his left wrist earlier this week. The Braves opted to go shorthanded against the Marlins rather than place Acuna on the injured list because they thought he would return soon.
That’s still the hope: Snitker said Acuna is resting in Atlanta this weekend. They’re targeting a Monday return. “We’ll see how he feels, but hopefully we’ll get him back in there (Monday),” Snitker said.
Second baseman Ozzie Albies is likewise sidelined with a wrist issue, though his is more serious. Albies was placed on the 10-day IL on Aug. 5 with a bone bruise in his right wrist. He’s started swinging, which is the next step in his return process.
“Ozzie took some swings off a tee today,” Snitker said. “He felt good. He wasn’t working it, I don’t think, but at least he’s starting to swing again, so that’s good news.”
Snitker also spoke well of first baseman Matt Adams, who’s been out with a hamstring strain. Two days ago, Snitker said he didn’t expect Adams back in the next week. While that might still be the case, he said Friday that Adams is “starting to get better.”
Reliever Chris Martin missed the ongoing road trip because of a rare injury (even by baseball standards): an esophageal constriction. Martin had a procedure done and was placed in the IL on Aug. 7 (retroactive to Aug. 6).
“Chris Martin is going to throw (soon) and he’s doing well also,” Snitker said. The Braves planned for Martin returning Monday when the team opens its next homestand. That still seems to be the intention.
Snitker mentioned Hamels is still “doing his throwing program,” but the left-hander remains the Braves’ man of mystery. When the Braves placed Hamels on the 45-day IL in late July, it meant the earliest the 36-year-old could return was early September. Last week, Snitker expressed belief that Hamels could still contribute for the 2020 Braves.
Notes from Friday:
» When discussing the Braves’ alternate training site, conversation usually centers on the team’s top prospects. Rightfully so, but it’s worth adding that the Braves also have a plethora of veterans stationed in Gwinnett.
Slugger Scott Schebler was designated for assignment and outrighted to the alternate site Thursday. He joins several other seasoned, non-40-man players, including pitchers Jhoulys Chacin and Chris Rusin and position players Peter O’Brien, Pete Kozma and Yangervis Solarte.
While that’s certainly an unspectacular list of names, should the Braves find themselves in an emergency, they at least have experienced depth from which to pull. Starters Mike Foltynewicz and Sean Newcomb also are at the secondary site, but they won’t be back with the major-league club in the immediate future.
» On a similar subject, cries are getting louder for the Braves to promote one of their top prospects, namely outfielder Cristian Pache, lefty Tucker Davidson or righty Ian Anderson. It’s far from a guarantee any of these players would excel immediately, but the argument for each is growing stronger.
Given Ender Inciarte’s struggles – a .182/.280/.227 line and -0.2 bWAR – turning to Pache is increasingly justifiable. If they deem Pache an upgrade, there won’t be much more time to waste in the 60-game season.
Plus, figuring out if the 21-year-old is ready to play regularly by next season is an important side benefit, especially given how teams will rely on as many cheaper options as they can with the foggy financial landscape.
Davidson’s opportunity is easy to envision with the Braves’ rotation woes. The team is currently working with a three-man group, executing two bullpen games this week. Davidson, who’s on the 40-man roster, would probably get the call before Anderson, who’s not on the roster.
» The Braves don’t have concrete plans for Sunday’s starter. It will be another bullpen game. Right-hander Touki Toussaint is scheduled for Monday against the Nationals on an extra day of rest.
» Snitker said the Braves didn’t have any issues Thursday on their day off, their first of the season, which occurred in the COVID-19 hotbed of south Florida.
“It was a good day,” he said. “Everyone poked their head out of their rooms and maybe took a little stroll, but everybody hung close to the place and enjoyed a mental day off as much as anything. … It’s good just to clear your head and have a day where you know you don’t have to do anything, you’re just on your own. That’s always good. This is such a grind here day in and day out. A little mental relief goes a long way in this sport.”
Left-hander Max Fried said of his off-day experience: “A lot of relaxing, staying inside the room. Ordered some room service, watched Netflix, tried to keep it pretty relaxed. I tried not to leave the room and take advantage of the room-service deal we had.”
» Assessing the Braves’ first 20 games of the season, Snitker said he’s satisfied with how they’ve performed through adversity. The team was 11-9 entering Friday’s game.
“We’ve hung in there pretty well,” Snitker said. “We’ve lost a lot of key guys. Other teams have also. But we survived that stretch, and we’re going to get to a point where we’re getting some of those guys back. We’ve given some opportunities to some of our young players. This is going to be really good for them and hopefully us. What we did in that stretch was pretty good. It was an entire team effort, not just one or two guys carrying the load. They distributed it around and played some pretty good baseball.”
