The Braves announced today that third baseman Austin Riley has undergone core injury surgery, which will end his season, though he is expected to return for spring training 2026. He is already on the 10-day injured list. He’ll be transferred to the 60-day IL once the club needs his 40-man roster spot.
The club also announced their previously-reported claim of right-hander Cal Quantrill, with righty Dane Dunning optioned in a corresponding move. They also activated outfielder Jake Fraley, another waiver claimee, and recalled left-hander Dylan Dodd. In corresponding moves for those two, they optioned right-hander Connor Seabold to Triple-A and placed infielder Luke Williams on the 10-day IL due to a strained left oblique, retroactive to August 19th.
In the short term, the Riley news isn’t a huge deal for Atlanta. They are playing out the string on a lost season. They are 58-69 and 9.5 games back of a playoff spot. As mentioned, Riley was already on the injured list, having landed there earlier this month due to an abdominal strain. Losing him for the rest of 2025 doesn’t mean much.
The more notable concern is the long term. This the second straight year that Riley will finish on the injured list. In 2024, his last appearance was August 18th, when he was hit on the hand by a pitch. He suffered a fracture and wasn’t able to return down the stretch.
From 2021 to 2023, Riley appeared in at least 159 games each season. He slashed a combined .286/.354/.525 for a 136 wRC+ over that time. FanGraphs credited him with at least 5.1 wins above replacement in each of those campaigns.
His contributions since then have been more modest. Last year, even before the hand fracture, he wasn’t at his best. He had a .256/.322/.461 line and 114 wRC+, still 14% above league average but not up to his previous standard. This year, he has twice gone on the injured list due to abdominal issues and has now gone under the knife. He will finish the year with a .260/.309/.428 line and a 103 wRC+.
Atlanta has seen a number of players struggle or get injured this year, which has naturally made the team worse. A lot of those players, including Riley, have been locked in by long-term extensions. That means the club can’t do much apart from hope that their guys bounce back and perform better going forward. Riley’s ten-year, $212MM contract runs through 2033, so he’s still a huge part of the club’s future. Ideally, getting over this issue and coming into 2026 healthy will get him back on track, though time will tell if will come to pass or not.
Photo courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images
Fan of a division rival, but I hate to see this. Hope Riley can recapture his MVP-Candidate form next year.
I agree. As a Braves fan, I always want to beat the best competition on the field.
Atlanta’s season was rotten to the core.
At the beginning of the year, I sure that they would do better, but injuries hurt them and Strider still seems damaged.
Team has no depth organizationally.
Williams must have pulled his oblique pitching the 8th in the blowout Tuesday night. Tough to throw those 75 mph heaters and 65 mph eephus pitches. Get well soon Austin. Need him to be “normal Riley” next year. Really don’t want to watch Alvarez missing every fastball thrown to him again next season. Good glove, punch and judy swing and miss “hitter.” Trade him this winter. Please.
super talented, but 2 yrs in a row riley is rouintely hurt
braves are just full of injured players all the time now i dont get it
In 2024, Riley got hit in the hand w/a wild fastball thrown by an Angels rookie w/zero command. Totally not Riley’s fault. Hit by wild pitch doesn’t make him “routinely” injured.
How many injuries are really the injured persons fault?.no need to always assign blame its not a car accident.. bottom line some guys just have more unfortunate things happen to them than others and catch a label..injured is injured..any way you slice it And this is now 2 years in a row would it take a 3rd to make the label more appropriate?..who’s to say
Big difference between soft tissue injuries and hbp. Being hit by a wild pitch (thrown w/intent or not) is definitely the fault of somebody other than the injured person.
Either way..you rack up enough time in the trainers room and people stop keeping score of fault and you get a label..will see how it plays out for him..Hopefully he remains healthy after this regardless of how he got hurt
c’mon jeff i thought u were 1 of the good ones. instead u just like to argue nonsense like a fool ?
austin riley injury history past 2 seasons:
may 2024: left side tightness > missed 3 weeks
aug 2024: HBP > missed final 2 months of the year
july 2025: abdominal tightness > placed on IR, missed 2 weeks
august 2025: surgery > missed final 2 months of the year
HBP not his fault but still a total of 5 months missed last 2 yrs. thats nearly an entire season due to various injuries. what about the word “routinely” didnt process in your brain?
Lol, I am “1 of the good ones” so I won’t insult you back just because I disagreed w/the characterization of Riley as “routinely” injured due to some unfortunate injury luck over the last 2 seasons of his 7 year career. In the 3 years previous to 2024 he played in 160, 159, and 159 games.
Awesome. go respond to the person who said he was healthy previous 3 yrs before 2024
Im the guy who said “2 yrs in a row riley is routinely hurt”
you’re in the wrong thread man
One of the worst contracts in baseball.
Not even remotely close Lou.
Is it mandatory to start your comment with “as a ____ fan”?