Injury Notes: Albies, Suzuki, Basabe, Gipson-Long

The Braves placed Ozzie Albies on the injured list yesterday after the star second baseman fractured a toe on a hit-by-pitch. The Athletic’s David O’Brien writes that the Braves expect Albies’ absence to be closer to one month as opposed to the three months he lost when he broke his foot during the 2022 season. While that’d be well beyond the 10-day minimum, it’s far from a worst case scenario.

Atlanta’s typically excellent offense has been the best in MLB over the season’s first few weeks. The Braves lead the majors in all three triple-slash stats and entered Wednesday third in runs (behind the Padres and Dodgers, each of whom have played more games). Albies has been a big part of that, hitting .317/.386/.492 with a pair of longballs over his first 70 plate appearances. The Braves selected David Fletcher’s contract after Albies’ injury to add a glove-first utility option. Luis Guillorme has gotten the start at the keystone in each of the last two days.

A few more health situations of note:

• An approximate month-long absence also seems to be on the table for Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who went on the shelf on Monday with an oblique strain. Manager Craig Counsell told reporters last night that the injury is in the “four-week range,” although the team will have a clearer timetable once Suzuki’s symptoms subside (X link via Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune). One of Chicago’s hottest hitters, Suzuki was off to a .305/.368/.525 start to his third MLB campaign. Mike Tauchman has been pushed into right field action against right-handed pitching, with Alexander Canario recalled as a righty complement in the corner opposite Ian Happ.
• The Rays were dealt a hit to their infield depth this afternoon. Osleivis Basabe landed on the minor league injured list. Patrick Kinas, broadcaster for the team’s Triple-A affiliate, tweets that Basabe fractured his right wrist when he was by a pitch from Naoyuki Uwasawa in yesterday’s game. It’s not clear how long he’ll be out of action, although it stands to reason it’ll be a significant absence. Basabe has spent this year in Triple-A after being optioned during Spring Training. The righty-hitting shortstop got to the majors late last season, appearing in his first 31 MLB contests. He’s on the 40-man roster as a depth option for a middle infield that is already without Brandon Lowe and Taylor Walls.
• Sawyer Gipson-Long continues to weigh multiple opinions after experiencing forearm tightness, the Tigers informed reporters (including The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen). Detroit hasn’t specified whether surgery is on the table, yet it’s nevertheless worrisome any time a pitcher is dealing with somewhat nebulous forearm soreness. Gipson-Long began the season on the 15-day injured list after suffering a Spring Training groin strain. He had an impressive four-start MLB debut last September, fanning nearly 32% of opponents with a 2.70 ERA in 20 innings. Gipson-Long wasn’t likely to be in contention for an Opening Day rotation spot but projects as one of Detroit’s better depth starters if healthy.