Between injuries to the outfield and their bench, the news has not been good for the Braves this month, and Reed Johnson was the latest to go down. Achilles tendinitis forced the backup outfielder to the disabled list Tuesday and the Braves called up Todd Cunningham from Triple-A Gwinnett.
Johnson has had his Achilles tendon flare up twice previously this year, in Arizona in May and in Kansas City in June, but was able to come back a day or two later. This time the soreness lingered from Sunday night when he pulled up after beating out an infield hit in the eighth inning against the Cardinals.
Johnson underwent an MRI on Tuesday.
“After we get more tests done, we’ll know more,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “Keep your fingers crossed that it’s only a two week thing.”
He’s the fourth outfielder to leave a game injured in the past 2 ½ weeks and the fourth of the Braves five bench players to spend time on the DL this season. Gwinnett’s starting outfield is on Atlanta’s roster now with Cunningham, Joey Terdoslavich and Jose Constanza.
And actually, it’s good news that a couple of Atlanta’s outfielders are going to be in Gwinnett. B.J. Upton (adductor/groin strain) is set to begin his minor league rehabilitation assignment Wednesday in Gwinnett. He’s scheduled to play three games against Charlotte, building up from two to four at-bats along the way. If all goes well, he could come off the DL this weekend in Philadelphia.
Jordan Schafer is not far behind him, likely to begin his own rehab assignment Saturday with Gwinnett in Durham. Schafer is a little more than four weeks into his recovery from a stress fracture in his right ankle.
