The partially torn right LCL that sent Braves third baseman/corner outfielder Austin Riley to the injured list last week will not require surgery, Mark Bowman of MLB.com was among those to report. Now that his season will continue, Riley’s hoping to start a minor league rehab assignment two weeks from now, according to Bowman.
The 22-year-old Riley joined the Braves in the middle of May, at which point he ranked as one of baseball’s 50 best prospects. Riley, whose promotion came in response to an injury to outfielder Ender Inciarte, began his career in excellent fashion. He owned an OPS upward of .900 as of the end of June, though Riley has come crashing to earth more recently. He’s now a .242/.294/.504 hitter with 17 home runs through his first 255 plate appearances, during which he has fanned in 35.3 percent of trips and walked in just over 5 percent.
With Josh Donaldson holding down third and right fielder Nick Markakis on the IL, the Riley-less Braves have been going with Adam Duvall in left, Inciarte in center and superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. in right. Inciarte has performed well dating back to his return July 18, while Duvall’s numbers have plummeted since a red-hot start after the Braves promoted him from Triple-A Gwinnett toward the end of last month.
The Braves’ infield, meanwhile, has been making do without shortstop Dansby Swanson since July 27 because of a heel issue. There’s still no timetable for his return, per Bowman, while David O’Brien of The Athletic adds that he’s not able to do much of anything in terms of baseball activities at this point. Doctors have told Swanson the injury isn’t something he’d be able to play through. It’s especially unfortunate considering the former No. 1 overall pick was enjoying a career season before he landed on the shelf. The 25-year-old has slashed .265/.330/.468 (103 wRC+) with 17 homers and seven steals over 431 trips to the plate.
Atlanta has replaced Swanson with a combination of Johan Camargo and Charlie Culberson. Camargo has endured a dreadful year after what looked like a breakout 2018, while Culberson’s still-impressive output has declined since he took on a greater role. Nevertheless, the Braves continue to hold a six-game lead in the National League East.
Too bad about Swanson. Uneasy about allowing a torn ligament to just get better without surgery. Ominous outlook for career if not handled properly. Braves medical staff incompetent for decades.
We had the best training staff in all of sports for decades. They even won awards for it.
I’m not saying one way or the other but do they now? I think I do remember hearing that during the Bobby Cox era but did that change over the years?
I agree. Jeff Porter was amazing.
One note to you – Swanson DOES NOT have a torn ligament – They thought Riley does. Swanson has a “heel” injury which is much better than a torn ligament. I think you need to read the article better.
He went to see dr. Andrews he is arguably the greatest orthopedic doctor in the world, if he says he doesn’t need surgery then he doesn’t need surgery
We could have no one injured and a lineup full of elite all stars and our bullpen would still meltdown every game.
Doom and gloom much. Must be exhausting seeing all the negatives in the world. It’s been 5ish games. Let them get used to a new city, team and catchers. They will be fine.
Are you actually a Braves fan? Every Braves post you post like this whether the Braves are the hottest team in baseball or on a small losing streak. Braves have been great to watch this season and we have a held a large lead over the division for most of the season. Every contender is having bullpen issues enjoy the team quit thinking the so negative. Yes we gave up Allard ik you dislike the move yes we gave up Wentz guess what everyone was raving reviews on Braves as a deadline winner, it’s been a week and half since the deadline let guys who were doing great before the trade get used to a new team and home before giving up on the season.
Its just highly abnormal that all three new deadline pitchers tank the way they have. I still feel that all three pitchers will soon shake off the jetlag and start pitching the way they did before the trade: Mark Melancon, Shane Greene and Chris Martin.
Swanson is the biggest missing piece for this team. Camargo is terrible! Without him, the Braves already questionable playoff run is unlikely.
This is the least dreadful post I’ve seen from you, but fortunately I don’t necessarily agree. Before the year started most Braves fans were writing Swanson off as a bust and trying to trade him. He’s a big missing piece no doubt. But I definitely don’t think him being gone dooms the squad.
Have you seen their offense since both him and NM got hurt? The only reason this offense “looks” to be in good shape is because of Albies. Albies has been on a tire lately, essential replacing the production of the injured. Donaldson has done nothing but be inconsistent. Then you have garbage 5-8.
And before some of you chirp, “BuT wHaT aBoUt AcUna?”
He has been great. No doubt. I still believe he is an easy out if put up against great pitchers. Lucky for him, there are not enough of them in the league. Maybe once he learns to not strikeout often, he will become an even more dangerous player.
Rotation other than Soroka has been average. Bullpen…well we know they have a bottom 5 bullpen in baseball.
There we go.
You’re back to
being totally
negative!
You must of
had a very
temporary
attack of
lucidity…..
Dude. Acuna … easy out? Step away from the crack pipe.
Acuna has lowered his K rate 4% from last year, and raised his BB rate 1%. He leads trhe NL in stolen bases and is on pace for 40+ homers. Batting .298, OBP of .378. Yeah, he’s a really easy out.
“I still believe he is an easy out if put up against great pitchers. Lucky for him, there are not enough of them in the league. ”
This is probably one of the most ignorant sentences I’ve seen on MLBTR in a really long time, if ever.
I misspoke. I should have said against great strikeout pitchers.
People are already comparing him to Trout which is laughable. Once he continues to lower his K’s (if he continues to), then we can have a conversation going.
He also needs to improve defensively. I still believe he gets lazy chasing after certain fly balls. The single in the 9th hit by Isan Diaz on Sunday, is a good example. We saw it again today on the McNeil single in the 2nd.
“I still believe he is an easy out if put up against great strikeout pitchers. Lucky for him, there are not enough of them in the league. ”
In other words, he’s an easy out against pitchers that don’t exist.
Max S, Degrom, Sale, Cole, Verlander….
as I said, too bad there are not enough of them in the league.
As I said, you’re bemoaning the non-existence of pitchers that don’t exist.
“Ronald would be a really bad batter if there were more really good pitchers”
Dude is 21 years old yo, Mike Trout led the league in strikeouts at 22. It’s not the end of the world.
It is not nor did I say it was.
I am not a Braves fan but as a whole respect Braves fans. I’m with you guys on this negative outlook posts I’ve seen from a couple. I don’t encourage “homerism” but saying things like our offense wouldn’t be that great if you subtracted our top hitter or two is ridiculous. If league pitching was better a guy wouldn’t put up the numbers he is? What in the hell is your point here because I don’t understand it at all. This might be the hardest I’ve ever seen anyone attempt to add a negative spin. Definitely on the team they root for that’s for sure. Unfortunately the low level comments against one another is so utterly ridiculous I can no longer rank them in any particular order
I’ve seen some people post comments so off the wall you don’t even bother but you seem genuine. Are you seriously saying you’re unhappy with the offense and everyone should look at the offense by first removing its best hitter or two? Are you saying that Braves fans and management should be concerned with a portion of a players offensive stats against pitchers that you are stating yourself are few and far between? My god man the Braves are having a great year and will only get better in the coming years as they develop and more players start to get closer to their peak. Think about that if you want to continue the same narrative because it’s only going to get harder and your comments will have to get more and more ridiculous. I’m not a Braves fan and it’s hard to read to be quite honest
“My god man the Braves are having a great year and will only get better in the coming years as they develop and more players start to get closer to their peak.”
I guarantee they won’t if AA continues to ho-ard prospects and acquire cheap players. Other than Pache, Waters, and maybe…maybe Anderson, they have nothing in the farm. No, i did not forget Wright or Wilson. The latter should be the closer on this team and i think it’s his only chance at success in the majors.. The former should be traded before he loses more value.
Acuna has been hitting at a torrid pace – and is on pace for 40 HRs – he is 21 yrs old – Mike Trout – 22 (first year of records in MLB – had 30 HRs – the only downside is that Trout had a .326 AVG in 2012 while so far Acuna is at .293. However Acuna already has more steals than Trout Did, his defense regardless where he is in the outfield is above average, shall I go on?
Soroka is great, Tehran has not been bad, and lately Fried is coming together. Keuchel will pick it up, our bp, the new pieces need to get used to the new environment – that is happening and normally happens with bp pickups during the trade deadline all the time.
We WILL WIN the division, and I truly believe (if we do not face the Dodgers right away) that we will get through the first round of the playoffs.
I still don’t think the team is ready for WS yet, but they are very close. And who knows, we might get another surprise.
Remember that the team was projected to be in FOURTH Place by everyone – the Phillies and the Nats were supposed to own the division with the Mets and Braves battling between 3rd and 4th. The Marlins are the only team to play how the writers noted.
Why can’t you just enjoy the team for what they are doing? Or are you just nothing more than a troll who prefers to spout negativity. This will be my only response to you – unless you come around with facts, real facts – going back and forth comparing players (like Trout and Acuna) based on when Trout was in his very early 20s and Acuna now. Even Trout has noted that Acuna reminds him of himself when he was in his early 20s.
Ronald Acuna vs:
Max Scherzer .444
Stephen Strasburg .364
Robbie Ray .667
Aaron Nola .313
Jacob deGrom .278
Yeah, really gettin eaten up by those strikeout pitchers. Over the past 3 weeks since July 27th the Braves have the highest fWAR in the NL and lead most all offensive categories in that time. Yes Ozzie has been great the past few weeks while posting a 183 wRC+, but Freeman has posted a 181, Acuna a 179, Inciarte a 155, Donaldson a 138, even Max Fried has posted a 180, so no Ozzie isn’t the only player hitting.
The single that he then threw the runner out on? Jesus Christ man. He needed to improve defensively in Left Field and Center. He’s looked as good as vintage Heyward in right.
And dude….30/30 in his first full season? Look at trouts trajectory, he works on different aspects of his game year to year. Acuna is showing the same ability. I’m really hesitant to make the comp to trout….but if Acuna gets to 40/40 and hits .300, I don’t know how you can shake that comparison.
Lol so he’s an easy out against pitchers who make everyone get out with ease. Fantastic comment.
Nothing in the farm? Dude, GTFO…
What do you want there to be in the farm? Even after the deadline, they’re a top 5 farm system.
{Que: Yea, they’re a top five farm system, but only because there aren’t enough quality prospects in the game}
I disagree on the rotation being average outside of Soroka. Mike has been our best and most consistent starter and is 10-2. But also the Bullpen has blown 4 late inning leads that has kept him from being 14-2. Fried is tied for 4th in the NL with 14 wins and a sub 4 ERA. Teheran is in the top 20 in ERA at 3.35. Julio had one bad month as did Fried. Braves are 16-9 in games Julio has started and 10 of those starts the Braves scored 3 or fewer runs. The rest of the guys who have started games have been pretty bad and inconsistent.( Gausman,Wright,Wilson,Newcomb) Folty has shown he can be a frontline starter and is a year removed from being an Allstar. Not sure if injuries, lack of confidence or something else that has caused him to struggle this yr.. keuchel won a Cy Young a few yrs ago, has given up 3 or fewer runs in 8 of his 11 starts and in those starts 5 of those 11 he gave up 2 or fewer runs. In his 5 losses, the offense scored a total of 12 runs with 4 of those 5 scoring 3 or less.. The bullpen also blew 2 leads in the 9th that cost him 2 wins. 8 of his 11 starts were quality starts.
The rotation has definitely had it’s issues but 3 have been really good most of the season, It’s finding 2 more starters to be consistent most nights thats been the issue. Plus the 20+ blown saves by the bullpen that has hurt the starters numbers and has kept Washing, Philly and NY in the NL East Race.. Even if you take away half of the blown saves, the Braves would have 82 wins and in cruise control. Anthopolis not adding another consistent starter at the trade deadline will keep the NL East a race most likely. The bullpen has been a dumpster fire for the last 2 yrs. Hopefully AA won’t make the same mistake next season, so much easier and less likely of overpaying if he fixes the most glaring problems in the offseason.
1) he is hitting .444 against Matt Scherzer which happens to be the best strikeout pitcher in the game.
2) Mike Trouts first four year strikeout totals were 139, 136, 184, and 158 so don’t act like he doesn’t strike out too.
For the record Trout is hitting .188 against Scherzer.
The NL East must have the 4 worst bullpens of all the contending teams…
^^^^^ Ding! Ding! Ding!
Idk the dodgers and cubs bullpens have been inffy at times this season too. Granted they have also looked great at times too. But that is how most bullpens are, with relievers being very volatile in general.
Swanson is so valuable on the defensive side at SS that the offense he has given this year is just icing on the cake. If he is a 100 WRC+ offensively this year he will be a 4+ win player that is huge for ATL with him as cheap as he is. A 20 HR, 10 SB, GG caliber defender at SS is huge.
Duvall trade bait huh. ?
Where’s the guy that kept pushing Duvall on the Giants for MadBum and Will Smith. In a package. How great he would be and how great a deal it would be for us…
HA. !
How many Braves fans in March expected them to be 6 games up on Aug. 13? Anyone?
I’m pretty sure no one had them even sniffing the playoffs at the beginning of the year.
Most Braves fans expected the Braves to have a good shot at making the playoffs as a possible WC, especially after last season. I was more worried about the Nationals and Mets than the Phillies. Philly went all in on offense instead of spreading out money to upgrade their bats and pitching. Over 162 games, the better pitching is going to beat out the better hitting. Thats why the Astros and Dodgers are the 2 best teams. Great frontline pitching and can put up lots of runs too. Exactly why I don’t think the Braves can beat LA or go deep in the playoffs. Plus look at Philly’s lineup, lots of power but also lots of swing and misses. And lower averages. Half of their lineup has guys averaging over a strikeout per game. Thats why they have struggled agains teams with the better pitching like the Braves,Nats,Dodgers and even the Marlins.
I’ll go out on that limb, I thought we would actually be higher after last season. I called it in spring training last yr that the Braves had a chance to be special. This yr even more so. Whether we get past the Dodgers or not, I’m not expecting a first round exit this yr due to the fact that if the standings stay as is, we will play the winner of the Central.
I think I was cautiously optimistic for a Wildcard slot.
Who didn’t think the Braves would be where they’re at?! Any true fan on baseball would have known the Phillies were way overrated. If anything, I’m just surprised the Nats aren’t neck and neck with the Braves. They’re definitely the third best team in the NL behind the Dodgers and Braves. If healthy, the Braves would give the Dodgers a scare in the playoffs. By scare I mean send it to a game 6 in nlcs
I agree. I don’t know if we’d beat the dodgers; however, we would put up more of a fight then we did last season.
I did.