The Braves placed Andrelton Simmons on the 15-day disabled list Monday, a day after the rookie shortstop broke his right hand on a head-first slide.
An examination by team associate team physician Gary Lourie Monday confirmed Simmons has a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal (pinkie finger). He will be in a cast for four weeks and re-evaluated after it is removed. No further timetable for Simmons' return was announced.
According to the team, a corresponding roster move will not be announced until at least Thursday, the day before the Braves return from the All-Star break and open a home series against the Mets.
Simmons suffered the injury on a slide into second base against the Phillies on Sunday. An X-ray taken at Citizens Bank Park revealed the break and he was fitted with a splint after the game. Typically, the injury can require four to six weeks to heal and even longer if surgery is required.
"Stuff happens," Simmons said after Sunday's game. "I've got to live with the consequences. It's tough, but I can't do anything about it now."
Simmons has a .296 average with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 33 games since being called up from Double-A Mississippi and making his major-league debut on June 2. He won NL rookie of the month for June, leading all league rookies in batting average (.333), on-base percentage (.365) and hits (30).
For alternatives, the Braves have veteran Jack Wilson as the backup shortstop. They also have Tyler Pastornicky, who started the season in Atlanta before Simmons was called up, at Triple-A Gwinnett. They might also decide to add a shortstop via trade before the July 31 non-waiver deadline. Braves general manager Frank Wren indicated Sunday he and his staff would make a decision over the All-Star break.
Braves to honor Chipper
The Braves will honor retiring third baseman Chipper Jones in a ceremony Sept. 28, the first game of his final regular-season homestand against the Mets.
The Braves will release more details regarding the pre-game ceremony at a later date.
"In this day and age it is extremely rare that a player of Chipper's stature remains with one team for his entire career," Braves President John Schuerholz said in a statement. "We are most fortunate and especially honored to have had him in a Braves uniform for his remarkable 20-year career and we will show him how much he has meant to us."
The Braves will also unveil on Friday a commemorative souvenir program during a series against New York following the All-Star. The program features first-person articles from Jones' parents, former manager Bobby Cox, scout Tony DeMacio, who signed Jones to his first contract, and his high school coach Don Suriano. The souvenir program will be available at Turner Field and at the Braves Clubhouse Store at CNN Center.
Sheets makes second start
Right-hander Ben Sheets worked in and out of trouble all night in his second minor-league start for the Double-A Mississippi Braves Monday in his attempt to return to the majors after nearly two years.
Sheets lasted 5 2/3 innings against the Birmingham Barons, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits, all of them singles. He struck out four and walked none.
Sheets could conceivably join the Braves and start Sunday's game against the Mets following the All-Star break. Team officials will make a decision on his next start, in the majors or another in the minors, later in the week.
The Braves signed Sheets to a minor-league contract on July 1. He worked five innings in this first start last Wednesday and was charged with four runs in five innings. He struck out six and walked one.
A four-time All-Star with the Brewers who once struck out 18 Braves in a game in 2004, Sheets was out of baseball at 33 years old after two elbow surgeries. Sheets, who turns 34 on July 18th, hasn't pitched a full season in four years.
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