The Braves haven’t seen Travis d’Arnaud since May 2nd, when he was placed on the 60-Day Injured List with a thumb injury. Luckily for Atlanta, it looks like d’Arnaud will be back with the team in a few days, and they badly need help at catcher:
D’Arnaud is scheduled to catch tonight and Friday at Gwinnett, then DH Saturday. Won’t surprise me if he’s activated Sunday vs Nats or Tuesday vs. Reds. Vogt will presumably be the back up. Kevan Smith has drawn praise from pitchers, but his offense is simply abysmal.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) August 6, 2021
This might be a good time to say I expect d'Arnaud to be activated by Tuesday. He's currently scheduled to play these next four days for Gwinnett. But there's always a chance he could come up a day or two earlier than scheduled.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) August 6, 2021
It looks like the targeted return date is Tuesday, but with the Braves finally above .500 after 109 games, you have to think Alex Anthopoulos smells blood in the water. The Braves are only 1.5 games out of first place, a position they haven’t held all season. The Mets just dropped three of four games to the Marlins, and now they face the Phillies this weekend, who are only half of a game behind them. The Braves will square off with the Nationals, a team that has stripped their roster down to the studs. Max Scherzer is no longer with the team, and Stephen Strasburg is still injured. The Braves will see Erick Fedde, former top prospect Josiah Gray, and Patrick Corbin — all guys who have struggled in 2021.
The Braves have a golden opportunity to seize first place before meeting up with a good Reds team, and getting Travis d’Arnaud back could be the spark that lifts Atlanta back to the top of the division.
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