The Braves announced on Wednesday that third baseman Adonis Garcia will miss roughly two months following surgery to repair ligament damage in his left ring finger.
The 32-year-old Garcia missed about two weeks due to an Achilles injury in late May and had only just returned from the DL when he suffered the injury to his finger. A long-term injury to Garcia could very well mean that the Braves will take an extended look at prospect Rio Ruiz at the hot corner.
[Related: Atlanta Braves depth chart]
Garcia emerged as the primary third baseman for the Braves late in 2015 and carried that role for much of the 2016 season, hitting a combined .274/.307/.437 with 24 homers through 761 plate appearances. However, he was batting a greatly diminished .247/.282/.351 with four home runs through his first 163 plate appearances of the 2017 season.
Ruiz, 23, entered the 2017 season ranked in the back-third of the Astros’ top 30 prospects, per outlets such as Baseball America and MLB.com. He got off to a reasonably productive start in Triple-A, hitting .262/.305/.447 through 151 plate appearances before being promoted to the Majors when Garcia was sidelined in mid-May. It’s been a struggle for Ruiz in the Majors thus far, as he’s hit just .209/.312/.343 through 77 plate appearances.
Atlanta acquired Ruiz alongside Mike Foltynewicz and Andrew Thurman in the trade that sent Evan Gattis and James Hoyt to the Astros. The former fourth-round pick signed a significantly over-slot deal out of the 2012 draft but has yet to deliver premium results in either the upper minors or in the Majors. Of course, he also only recently turned 23 (on May 22), so there’s still time for him to take his game to a higher level.
Que te recuperes pronto, Adonis.
Heeeere’s Jhonny!
Peralta?
Lol! Right
I think you mean that Ruiz entered the season on the back end of the Braves’ top 30 list…
Kelly Johnson time!
In fairness to Ruiz he hit like .270 in May when he was getting every day playing time and then they bumped him back to a pinch hitter and spot start every so often guy and his average plummeted.
I think he’ll be fine.
Fine (sigh) is all he’ll ever be. Seems like every year we keep writing “still need a 3B and C of the future”.
In regards to the Braves needing a “catcher of the future,” they do have a couple of intriguing candidates at AA, A+, and low A, along with Gutierrez who will be several years away when he debuts this season…But you are correct, they don’t have anyone that is even close to the big leagues…
I think that’s where some of their young starting surplus will be used; in order to, acquire a young catcher of the future.
Many Braves fans thought catcher would also be a need for the now and during the present time. However, Tyler Flowers has done one heck of a job behind the plate for the Braves this year.
I really wouldn’t mind the Braves sticking with Flowers, until they do male that trade for a younger catcher…Flowers has seen his career completely turn around the past 2 seasons, and if he can keep this up, then there’s no rush to find him an immediate ML-ready replacement.
They can sit on Flowers for another year or two, and then they can acquire and groom a younger guy to replace him, when Flowers decides to come back down to Earth…
DMC, I disagree. I think he’ll be fine. Give him time to adjust, as each promotion took him roughly a year to figure it out. if he does what he did in the minors but in the pros, that’s a solid ball player.
Garcia is 32? Wow I did not think that he was that old. Thought he was 26 or 27
Talk about perfect timing! Jhonny Peralta just happens to be available, so now they can fill in the hot corner of the 2010 flashback club!
Seriously though, best wishes to Garcia on his recovery
Ruiz should simply be nothing more than a stop gap to Demeritte. If he can hold his own for another season or two then that would be perfect timing for Demeritte to be ready and to ultimately replace him.
I’m not expecting much from Ruiz. He should play some adequate defense, and throughout a full season, he should average around .235-.250 with about 10-12 HR’s, drive in 50 runs, and get some timely hits here and there along the way..Although, he will also struggle at times taking walks, and he will also struggle making contact at times as well…
I’ve been a diehard Braves fan since I knew what baseball was, so I would love for Ruiz to prove me wrong..I mean, after all, he is still pretty young, so hE has some time to develop further and make some adjustments..
He has always taken awhile to adjust, when he reaches a new level, so his slump early on shouldn’t be too worrisome..But my expectations weren’t too high to begin with, so even with some progression, I don’t see Ruiz as being the long-term answer at 3rd.
I disagree. You are right about him starting off slow every time he hits the next level, but then he comes around to be a solid ball player. I believe he’s fully capable of being a .270 hitter with 15-20 HRs. His OBP is solid in the minors at roughly .350. He he puts those numbers up in the majors, I’d be very happy with him at 3B. He’s young, fans don’t need to give up on him so early. he has a great swing. Reminds me a little of KG Jr.
Guess Peralta will be signing with the Braves soon
A’s may do a deal for Plouffe and Gray.