The Braves haven’t ruled out first baseman Freddie Freeman for opening day, but they know they must make a decision in the coming days.
Freeman hasn’t been with the team since he was among the four Braves to test positive for COVID-19 before workouts began July 3. Freeman must test negative twice to rejoin the club.
Opening day is a week away from Friday. Freeman is running out of time to be ready for July 24 against the Mets.
“I don’t know,” manager Brian Snitker said. “That’s something that after the off day (Friday), we’ll get in here on Saturday, I’m sure there’s going to be, at some point if he doesn’t get in here, we’ll have to talk about that. But we haven’t decided what the date is or anything like that yet.”
A potential additional factor: Freeman, who had offseason elbow surgery, was stalled early in spring training due to elbow inflammation. Whenever he’s cleared, the Braves wouldn’t want him to rush back and risk longer-term damage. It’s unclear how long Freeman would need to be ready for games.
“It’s something we’re going to have to discuss,” Snitker said. “After the off day (Friday), we get in here and we’re approaching our last five (exhibition) games.”
Austin Riley, Johan Camargo, Adam Duvall and Charlie Culberson (who played first base on Thursday) are among the Braves who could handle first-base duties in Freeman’s absence. Riley might be the likeliest option, with Camargo at third base and Duvall in the outfield.
Credit: Atlanta Braves
Other notes:
-- Infielder/outfielder Peter O’Brien was placed on the injured list Wednesday. He’d been exposed to somebody who has COVID-19, though O’Brien has not tested positive himself, Snitker said.
- Left-hander Cole Hamels threw a side session Wednesday and “felt better,” Snitker said. The Braves will see how he feels on Saturday, but Snitker acknowledged Hamels probably won’t be ready for the start of the season.
“I don’t know that there’s time now for him to be ready to go at the beginning,” Snitker said. “But we’ll see where he’s at after his side (Thursday).”
Hamels has been working his way back from a shoulder injury sustained before spring training. He was recently slowed again by triceps tendinitis. Hamels hasn’t faced hitters since camp reopened.
- The Braves played their fourth intrasquad game Thursday afternoon. They were rained out after 2-1/2 innings the previous night.
Kyle Wright and Patrick Weigel started for the split teams. Wright, who pitched three innings, is among the pitchers competing for a rotation spot. If he doesn’t pitch the fifth day – which would be July 29 – he’s stretched out and will likely be in the Braves’ bullpen.
“I loved his stuff today,” Snitker said. “He got better as he went. The location wasn’t great early but the stuff was good throughout. I thought he threw the ball really well. His ball was moving good. He threw the ball extremely well, I thought.”
-- Catcher Travis d’Arnaud is apparently the Barry Bonds of summer intrasquad action. He homered off Weigel on Thursday after taking Josh Tomlin deep on Monday. D’Arnaud also hit a home run in a controlled scrimmage last week.
D’Arnaud hit 16 homers with the Rays last year, tying his career high. It was his first season back after undergoing right-elbow surgery due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament that limited him to four games in 2018. At the season’s outset, d’Arnaud struggled in his return, going 2-for-23 with the Mets before they designated him for assignment. His hometown Dodgers picked him up only to flip him to Tampa Bay five days later.
D’Arnaud was rejuvenated with the Rays. Perhaps most impressive about the rediscovered power is that d’Arnaud achieved that number in only 92 games (327 at-bats). The other time he reached that total was 2017, when he hit 16 homers in 112 games (348 at-bats).
The Braves inked d’Arnaud to a two-year deal last winter, believing what he showed in Tampa Bay was a sign of what’s to come. As far as summer scrimmages go, so far so good.
-- Outfielder Ronald Acuna recorded a hit and steal Thursday. It came less than 24 hours after he doubled twice off Mike Foltynewicz in Wednesday’s rain-shortened affair. He’s ready for the season.
-- The Braves are taking Friday off, their first idle day since camp reopened earlier this month. They’ll play another intrasquad game Saturday before hosting the Marlins for two exhibitions July 21-22.
