LOS ANGELES -- Braves outfielder Jorge Soler was cleared to come off the COVID-19 list and re-join the team. He will be active for Thursday night’s Game 5 of the National League Championship Series.
Soler was cleared by the MLB’s joint committee, the team announced Thursday afternoon, and he was added to the roster. The Braves removed outfielder Cristian Pache from the active roster to make room for Soler, who’s available off the bench.
“That’s a great weapon off the bench right there,” manager Brian Snitker said.
The Braves lead the Dodgers 3-1 and can win the NL pennant with a victory Thursday night. Game time is 8:08 p.m. EDT.
Soler was removed from the active roster Oct. 14 after testing positive for COVID-19. He played in the first three games of the Braves-Brewers Division Series, hitting .091 (1-for-11), with a double, two walks and four strikeouts.
“What he did for us before he, obviously, tested for positive on COVID, what he did was huge,” third baseman Austin Riley said. “To just be able to add that bat back in the lineup is going to help us down the stretch. I actually saw him earlier today and gave him some fist bumps. He’s pumped. I know he’s super pumped to be back and ready to help this club.”
Braves notes:
- Right-hander Huascar Ynoa was scratched from his start Wednesday and will miss the remainder of the postseason with shoulder inflammation. The hope is he’ll be ready for spring training in February 2022.
“He said playing catch he felt something pop,” Snitker said. “I don’t think he really knew the severity of it when we talked to him two nights ago before we left here, and he was like, ‘I should be ready to go.’ And he woke up that morning and felt good, yesterday morning and felt good. But it was significant enough after two days ago that we were, and then yesterday, it was just you could tell, there was something not right there.
“He’s going to have all the tests run and everything, and we’ll see probably in a couple days where he’s at. But they don’t feel right now that it will impede him starting spring training, but they haven’t done the MRIs and everything yet either.”
- Riley, who led the Braves in average, homers and RBIs (he had more as a Brave than Adam Duvall, who started the season with the Marlins) this season, was asked about first baseman Freddie Freeman’s influence on him.
“I think just the way he goes about his business,” Riley said. “To me, he’s the definition of a professional baseball player. Day-in and day-out he brings it. He doesn’t get too high, too low, just so poised in every situation. I think that’s been the biggest thing that I’ve taken from him is just learning how to deal with success and failure.”
- Lefty A.J. Minter was an unheralded star in Game 4, covering two scoreless innings in the Braves’ bullpen game. They won 9-2 to achieve their 3-1 series lead.
Minter also came through last October with an NLCS start. He’s had a lot of ups and downs in his career, but he’s continued to respond and help the team in crucial moments.
“Every person (has) their story, their failure,” Minter told the AJC before Game 5. “Every time I have a good outing or whatever it may be, I always just think about the hard times. I don’t know if that’s the right way of thinking about it, but I always just go back to now. It’s been hard and nothing in life should be easy. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for all the failures I’ve had and having the hard times and being sitting down and just learning how to be a better pitcher every single day.
“Like I said, I wouldn’t be here, no doubt, (in Game 4) or whatever it may be if I didn’t struggle. Everyone has their own story, and I think that’s what makes this team unique. Everyone has had hardships, and that’s what makes this team special.”
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