The Braves have been hit by injuries harder than any other team in baseball this year, and it didn’t stop after the All-Star break.
Going into the second half of the season, the key to success was to stay healthy. Obvious, right? Well, not even a few series into the second half, the Braves watched Ozzie Albies, Max Fried, and Reynaldo Lopez suffer varying injuries.
Albies broke his wrist and is expected to return around early September, but the Braves got fantastic news on their pitchers. Fried could return as early as this weekend against the Marlins after a successful bullpen session today.
While Lopez avoided any serious injury, an MRI revealed on Monday, Alex Anthopoulos did tell Jeff Francoeur and Brandon Gaudin in the Braves booth during the Brewers series finale that he may end up taking a stint on the injured list.
Alex Anthopoulos also mentioned that he might not even miss his next start in the rotation, but the club is debating whether or not to give him more rest. To me, this isn’t even a question.
The Braves chief goal down the stretch is to remain healthy. Reynaldo Lopez missing a single start isn’t going to kill the club; in fact, the way Spencer Schwellenbach and Bryce Elder just pitched, I’d wager Lopez will have a brief IL stint and make his next start next week.
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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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