Ronald Acuña Jr.: Out for the season.
Spencer Strider: Out for the season.
Austin Riley: Potentially out for the season.
Riley on Monday underwent an MRI that revealed a fracture in his right hand. The Braves said they expect him to miss approximately six to eight weeks.
At the time the news dropped, there were six weeks remaining in the regular season. How Riley’s hand heals, and whether the Braves make the postseason, could determine whether we see Riley suit up for the Braves again in 2024.
On Sunday, Riley was hit in the right hand by a 97-mph sinker from the Angels’ Jack Kochanowicz. Riley clearly was in a ton of pain. He underwent X-rays and a CT scan in Anaheim, but manager Brian Snitker said after the game that those tests were “inconclusive” and that Riley would be evaluated further when the team returned to Atlanta.
Monday brought the news everyone feared: The Braves might have to go the rest of the regular season without Riley.
The 2024 Braves, who feel cursed, have already lost Acuña and Strider. They went two months without Michael Harris II. They went a couple months without Sean Murphy. They dealt with injuries to Max Fried and Reynaldo López – the latter of whom they reinstated from the injured list Monday to start Tuesday’s game. (They optioned Jimmy Herget to Triple A as the corresponding move.) A.J. Minter needs surgery on his left hip, which could end his season. They expect to get Ozzie Albies back in September, but they’ve played without him for some time now. Jorge Soler hasn’t played since the second game of the San Francisco series due to a mild left hamstring strain.
And every time something else has happened, they’ve kept pushing. They currently sit in the National League’s third wild card spot and are at least two games ahead of everyone else.
With each injury, the question became: How much more can this team take?
The club that has absorbed so many injuries might’ve been dealt a fatal blow.
This season, Riley has arguably been the Braves’ second-best hitter behind Marcell Ozuna. The Braves couldn’t afford any more injuries – but especially not to someone like Riley. He leaves a huge hole in the batting order and at third base, where he’s played Gold Glove-caliber defense this season.
Riley’s .783 OPS ranks second behind Ozuna. He’s third on the team with 19 home runs and 56 RBI – Ozuna and Matt Olson rank ahead of him.
Since June 1, Riley’s .275 batting average ranks second among Braves with enough at-bats to qualify. His 16 home runs are second, as are his 38 RBIs. And now, he leaves a gaping hole in the second spot of the order.
It would hurt to lose Riley in general.
It’s even scarier when thinking about how Atlanta will attempt to replace him.
That’s no disrespect to the Braves’ internal options. But Riley is one of their franchise cornerstones. He’s signed to the largest contract in Braves history. He’s one of MLB’s best players.
On Sunday, Luke Williams entered the game for Riley in the bottom of the first inning and finished it. In Triple A, the Braves have Brian Anderson (whom Atlanta recently re-signed to a minor-league deal), Nacho Alvarez Jr. (who recently had his first stint in the majors), Zack Short (whom they recently designated for assignment and outrighted) and Alejo Loepz (who has played third for Gwinnett this season).
Another intriguing option: On Monday, the Tigers were in the process of releasing third baseman Gio Urshela. He might give the Braves a better bat than any of their internal options, though he’s only hit .243 with a .619 OPS this season. But he possesses a track record and posted an OPS of .720 or above in four straight seasons with the Yankees earlier in his career.
Alvarez, who is reportedly dealing with pneumonia, hasn’t played since Aug. 14. He has hit .293 with an .898 OPS there, but looked overmatched against big-league pitching after the Braves called him up to fill the void Albies left.
Anderson has primarily been a third baseman throughout his big-league career. He’s carrying a .715 OPS in Triple A, between two organizations, this season. He was up with the Braves earlier in the summer.
Short is batting .244 with a .691 OPS over 14 games. But he has hits in eight of his last nine games, including two hits in three of those contests. Alejo Lopez has a .787 OPS over 96 games for Gwinnett this season.
Something to note: Whit Merrifield, who has been the Braves’ everyday second baseman with Albies out, isn’t an option to play third base. He’ll stay at second.
No one will adequately replace Riley. No one could.
But can the Braves find a way to hold onto a postseason spot? If so, perhaps Riley can join them in October.
Despite Monday’s news, the Braves’ season isn’t over. In the current postseason format, anything is possible. The teams holding the third wild card spot – the Phillies and Diamondbacks – have represented the NL in the only two World Series in this playoff format. And as a sport, baseball is such that it allows for randomness.
Still, it could be reality that the Braves have lost far too much to make the postseason. They’ll need Ozuna and Olson to go ballistic in the final month and a half of the regular season. They need Harris to produce. And when Albies returns, they’ll need him to get on a heater.
Even then, it might not be enough.
Riley’s hand fracture once again brought this sobering thought into focus: The 2024 Braves are as snake-bitten a team as you can remember.
They can still make the postseason. They can still do something special.
But their road became a whole lot tougher.
On March 29, the Braves sent out their opening day lineup full of their starters for their opener against the Phillies.
It remains the only day they’ve used that lineup.
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