Travis d’Arnaud’s return means Braves’ band of position players is back together
For almost the entire season, the Braves have been playing without key pieces. They’ve continued winning, a testament to their depth.
They are 24-11.
And now, they’ll have their full group of position players.
The Braves on Monday returned catcher Travis d’Arnaud from his rehab assignment and reinstated him from the injured list. They optioned catcher Chadwick Tromp to Triple-A Gwinnett following Sunday’s game.
On April 8, d’Arnaud suffered a concussion on a collision at home plate with San Diego’s Rougned Odor. D’Arnaud has a history of concussions, and the Braves were cautious when they built him up.
D’Arnaud played in three rehab games. He caught five innings for Gwinnett on Friday, was the designated hitter on Saturday and caught five more innings on Sunday.
At the plate, he went 0-for-8 with two walks and a run scored.
Before d’Arnaud suffered the concussion, the Braves were splitting time between d’Arnaud and Sean Murphy behind the plate. Murphy is a workhorse, which allows them to ease d’Arnaud back into the fold however they want. The universal DH also helps the Braves get d’Arnaud’s bat in the lineup without having to put him behind the plate daily.
The Braves begin a two-game series with the Red Sox on Tuesday.
A couple days before d’Arnaud hit the injured list, the Braves placed Michael Harris II on the injured list with a lower back strain. Less than a week after both of those injuries, Orlando Arcia fractured his wrist.
The Braves continued to press forward. The injuries didn’t derail their hot start.
And now, they’re at full strength on the position-player side.
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