The Braves experienced a very scary moment yesterday when Jesse Chavez was struck with a line drive off the bat of Miguel Cabrera, forcing him to leave the game. Chavez couldn’t put any weight on his left leg and was even carried off the field by the trainers.
From the look of it, I wouldn’t have been shocked if X-Rays showed a break and potentially the end of his season. However, the Braves received some great news following the doubleheader. All X-Rays came back negative, and they said he would be considered day-to-day. An IL stint didn’t seem to be in the cards… until this morning.
According to Jeff Schultz of The Athletic, Alex Anthopoulos talked to Chavez this morning, who said he is feeling “very sore.” As a result, the club is now leaning towards placing him on the 15-day IL, which would keep him out of the mix for at least the remainder of the month. Schultz also reported that the Braves have not yet decided who will replace him on the roster.
This is a tough blow for the Braves and Chavez himself, who is amid a career year in his age-39 season. He boasts a 1.55 ERA over 30 appearances and had a real shot at making his first All-Star appearance.
With that being said, it is still far from the worst case scenario. Chavez avoided any structural damage, and the decision to move him to the IL is more of a precaution than anything. The Braves are 4.5 games clear of the second place Marlins, and it’s June. If this were September, perhaps they would approach things differently. But with some cushion in the division and several months of baseball yet to play, giving Chavez some rest is probably the best course of action.
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Photo: John Adams/Icon Sportswire
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