The Braves placed catcher Travis d’Arnaud on the 7-day injured list Sunday morning, as expected. The All-Star backstop suffered a concussion Saturday on a collision at home plate with San Diego’s Rougned Odor.
“He’s sore, a little fuzzy this morning,”. manager Brian Snitker said Sunday. “I haven’t seen him (this afternoon). ... He was coming in later to be evaluated again. (Trainer) George (Poulis) talked with him this morning.”
D’Arnaud dealt with multiple concussions earlier in his career (three before 2015). “It’s something you don’t want to mess around with,” Snitker said. “You start bruising your brain. It’s something that’s very concerning, especially with someone who’s had them before. We’ll keep a good eye on him.”
D’Arnaud has hit .333 (11-for-33) across eight games to begin the season. The Braves recalled Chadwick Tromp to join Sean Murphy as catchers on the active roster. Tromp went 3-for-4 in his only game with the Braves last season and appeared in 33 games for the Giants over the prior two campaigns. He also played for the Netherlands in this spring’s World Baseball Classic.
“That was a great experience for him,” Snitker said of Tromp participating in the WBC. “I received texts from (Netherlands manager) Hensley Meulens during it and they were pleased with how he handled himself. I thought he did a great job when he came up here for a short time last year. It’s good we have that kind of depth in our system where we can call on him, a guy that’s experienced and been here. He’s a guy where you know what you’re getting.”
It hasn’t been a healthy start: The Braves have been down starters Max Fried and Kyle Wright, relievers Raisel Iglesias and Collin McHugh, outfielder Michael Harris II and now d’Arnaud. None of those players is expected to have a long-term absence.
The Braves will try to avoid dropping three of four to San Diego (5-4) on Sunday night. They begin a three-game series against the Reds (3-4) on Monday.
Harris moving in right direction
Sidelined the past two days with a lower-back injury, Harris has been feeling better, Snitker said.
“He’s coming along good, he feels good,” Snitker said. “It’s probably one of those things where he feels better but he wouldn’t be playing yet. He’s doing the exercises and everything. It’s all going in the right direction with him. No lingering things right now. It’s where they want him to be at this point.”
The reigning National League rookie of the year was 5-for-23 to begin the season. He hit .297 with a .853 OPS, hitting 19 homers and stealing 20 bases, during his debut campaign.
