Huascar Ynoa dealt a blow to the dugout bench in Milwaukee Sunday, and in doing so, dealt a bigger blow to himself and his team.
Ynoa, frustrated following one of his few uninspiring outings, punched a dugout bench and broke his right hand, manager Brian Snitker said Monday. Ynoa will miss at least two months. He was officially placed on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right hand before Monday’s series opener against the Mets.
“That’s a tough one,” Snitker said. “He got frustrated after his outing yesterday and punched the seat in the dugout and broke his hand. It’s going to be a couple months that he’ll be down, then we’ll have to get him built back up. I hate to see that. The young guy was doing so well. That’s a big loss for us.”
Ynoa, 22, was the breakout star of the Braves’ season. He had a 2.23 ERA in eight games entering Sunday. He’d also impressed with the bat, hitting two homers, including a grand slam. The Braves desperately needed one of their young pitchers to step up given their rotation situation, and Ynoa did. At least for a while.
The right-hander struggled Sunday, leading to him physically expressing his dissatisfaction. He allowed five runs on nine hits in 4-1/3 innings. When Ynoa got off the plane after the Braves returned home Sunday night, he was “really sore,” Snitker said. The fracture was confirmed Monday morning.
“I know there’s nobody who feels worse than him right now,” Snitker said.
Once again, the Braves are tasked with navigating a pitching loss. They have options: Left-hander Tucker Davidson was promoted Monday and will start Tuesday against the Mets. Bryse Wilson and Kyle Wright remain depth for situations like this. Wilson is coming off a strong start against the Blue Jays, and while he’s in Triple-A, should receive his opportunities in the majors.
“It’s going to be guys from within our system,” Snitker said. “And we’ll just see how we get there.”
Reliever Edgar Santana was recalled to fill the vacated roster spot. The Braves opened a three-game series Monday against the first-place Mets.
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