WASHINGTON – Mallex Smith’s broken left thumb isn’t healing quite as quickly as hoped and the Braves’ rookie outfielder might not play again in the majors this season.
“Yeah, that’s a definite possibility,” Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. “And to look at it realistically, where’s he going to play? So, I mean, there’s no rush or anything like that. That hand, that wrist has been immobile for a long, long time now. It’s going to take a while to get it strong enough to get him back.”
Smith was injured June 19 when hit by fastball thrown by Mets left-hander Anthony Bastardo. He was initially expected to be out eight to 10 weeks, but it’s been eight and he’s not yet been cleared to begin swinging a bat with both hands.
Things have changed on the field with the Braves since Smith got hurt. Center fielder Ender Inciarte – his early April hamstring injury was the original reason Smith was brought from Triple-A – had a .356 batting average since the All-Star break including a career-best 19-game hitting streak that ended Tuesday.
Veteran right fielder Nick Markakis, who plays every day, hit .306 in his past 60 games before Friday with a .358 OBP, six homers and 33 RBIs. And the Braves just traded for veteran slugger Matt Kemp two weeks ago to play left field, with Jeff Francoeur’s role reduced to pinch-hitting and an occasional start.
Smith played primarily in left field after Inciarte got healthy, and hit .272 with a .778 OPS in his last 42 games before he broke his thumb. He led the Braves with 14 stolen bases and a .349 average with runners in scoring position.
With the minor league season ending in a few weeks, Smith’s only chance to play injury-rehab games would presumably be in possible minor league playoff games in September, but even then he might not be ready.
“It’s going to be probably a couple of weeks after he’s cleared (to resume baseball activities) before he can swing the bat, so that’s the first of September almost,” Snitker said.
The Braves wouldn’t bring him back to the big-league level without a fairly significant rehab stint. Therefore, it’s beginning to look as if a more likely scenario might be for Smith to come back and play in the Instructional League in October and perhaps get some games after that with a winter-ball team.
