Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Ozzie Albies

Ozzie Albies Suffers Fractured Right Pinky Finger

By | at

3:07PM: Albies will be in a cast for three weeks but he won’t require surgery.  The Braves will continue to evaluate the second baseman for his health and possible readiness for the playoffs.  (MLB.com’s Mark Bowman was among those to report the news.)

8:20AM: The Braves have officially placed Albies back on the injured list, albeit the 10-day IL. To fill the vacant 28-man roster spot, Rylan Bannon has been called up from Triple-A Gwinnett. Bannon has bounced around this season, having begun the year with the Orioles before being placed on waivers and claimed by the Dodgers and then the Braves in mid-August. In 81 at-bats at the Braves’ top-level affiliate, the righty has slashed .323/.432/.477, good for a .909 OPS.

SEPTEMBER 17TH: In just his second game back since being activated off the 60-day injured list, Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies suffered a fractured right pinky finger in tonight’s game against the Phillies.  The injury occurred during a slide into second base in the fourth inning, and Albies was replaced by Vaughn Grissom at second base for the top of the fifth.

The severity of the injury isn’t yet known, though the fact that initial x-rays determined the problem before the game was over could indicate more than just a small fracture.  It would seem like Albies’ 2022 season could be over, perhaps even if Atlanta made another run to the World Series.

Albies was a big contributor to last year’s championship team, earning his second career All-Star and Silver Slugger honors while also finishing 13th in NL MVP voting.  However, Albies was off to a relatively slow start over the 2022 campaign’s first two months before he suffered a left foot fracture on June 13 and had to undergo surgery.  As noted, Albies was sidelined until just yesterday, when he went 1-for-4 with two RBI in Atlanta’s 7-2 win over Philadelphia.

The Braves have managed to thrive even without Albies for much of the season, and Grissom has somewhat unexpectedly stepped up as an immediate contributor after being promoted from Double-A a little over a month ago.  Grissom has hit .304/.355/.482 over his first 121 plate appearances in the majors, leading to some speculation that the Braves would try Grissom in left field in order to keep his hot bat in the lineup.  However, it seems as though opposing pitchers have started to adjust to Grissom, as the rookie has only a .607 OPS over his last 67 PA.

Nevertheless, in the wake of Albies’ injury, it would seem like Grissom will now again be the top choice at second base for the remainder of the regular season and postseason.  Orlando Arcia is also on hand to provide depth, and Ehire Adrianza is also on hand, but currently on the IL himself due to a quad strain.  Pat Valaika, Hernan Perez, and Ryan Goins are some of the Triple-A options with MLB experience, though Atlanta could have to add any of those players to the 40-man roster.

It was less than a year ago that the Braves overcame the odds by winning the World Series despite losing a star player (Acuna) to injury for much of the season and throughout the playoffs.  While the book isn’t yet closed on Albies’ possible availability in the postseason, his absence for at least a few weeks will make it harder for the Braves to overtake the Mets in the NL East, and potentially capture a first-round bye.  The NL East runner-up is all but guaranteed to be the NL’s top wild card team and thus is set to host all three games (if necessary) of the Wild Card Series, yet Atlanta would obviously love to avoid those extra games and an extra chance of elimination.

Braves Activate Ozzie Albies, Designate Jay Jackson For Assignment

By | at

The Braves announced Friday that second baseman Ozzie Albies has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Fellow infielder Ehire Adrianza was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained quadriceps to open a spot on the active roster, while righty Jay Jackson was designated for assignment in order to clear a 40-man spot for Albies.

Albies, still just 25 years old, hasn’t appeared in a game since June 13 thanks to a broken left foot that ultimately required surgery. The Braves, at one point, were hopeful of a mid-August return for the two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner, but Albies’ recovery took a bit longer than that best-case scenario. Even without Albies’ all-around excellence, however, the Braves have been one of MLB’s hottest teams. Since his injury, Atlanta has played at a sweltering 52-28 pace, surging to just one game back of the NL East lead.

Inserting Albies back into the lineup will only make the Braves all the more dangerous. He is, after all, a .270/.321/.470 career hitter whose most recent full-season, 2021, was also the first 30-homer campaign of his impressive young career.

In Albies’ absence, the Braves have cycled through several options at the keystone. None of Orlando Arcia, Phil Gosselin or the aforementioned Adrianza hit particularly well in limited action at the position, however, and the organization eventually made the decision to call top prospect Vaughn Grissom up directly from Double-A in an effort to get more production from second base. Grissom has flashed all the tools that make him such a ballyhooed prospect in his initial look at the MLB level, but his bat has also cooled after a blistering start to the his career. Grissom slashed .420/.463/.660 through his first 14 games (54 plate appearances), but he’s batting just .210/.269/.333 in 17 games since and is has only one hit in his past five games.

For now, Grissom will stay on the big league roster despite the fact that Albies will step back into a full-time role at second base. There’s been talk of giving Grissom some time in left field, where neither Eddie Rosario nor Marcell Ozuna has provided much value to the lineup this season. There are also DH at-bats to go around, of course, so it’s possible for both Albies and Grissom to be in the lineup — which would come at the expense of playing time for some combination of Rosario, Ozuna and deadline acquisition Robbie Grossman.

The 34-year-old Jackson wasn’t on the active roster prior to today’s move but had been occupying a 40-man spot while pitching with Triple-A Gwinnett. He’s handled himself quite nicely there, to put things mildly; in 17 2/3 frames with Gwinnett, Jackson allowed just three runs on 13 hits and three walks with 20 strikeouts — good for a 1.53 ERA.

Jackson’s DFA is largely a case of poor timing and unfortunate (for him) circumstances. He missed the first several months of the season due to a lat strain and never really got much of a look in Atlanta thanks to an already loaded bullpen. The Braves are deep in quality veteran options, with Kenley Jansen, Raisel Iglesias, A.J. Minter, Tyler Matzek, Collin McHugh and Kirby Yates all under contract and pitching well. Rookie left-hander Dylan Lee has quietly been dominant for Atlanta, and the only other spot in the bullpen is currently occupied by out-of-options righty Jackson Stephens, who has pitched to a solid 3.74 ERA in a multi-inning role there.

The Braves could’ve opted to jettison Stephens and go with Jackson, but doing so would have required them to place Stephens on waivers, given his lack of minor league options. Jackson, who returned to the Majors in 2021 after spending the 2020 season in Japan, can become a free agent at season’s end under the terms of the contract he inked, MLBTR has confirmed. As such, the choice effectively boils down to four more years of Stephens versus a few more weeks of Jackson.

Given that Jackson is still owed the balance of a $1.5MM Major League salary, wouldn’t be playoff-eligible for a new team and is a free agent after the season, there’s a good chance he’ll clear waivers even in spite of his big showing in Gwinnett. If that’s the case, he could remain on hand as a depth option who could be summoned in the event of a late injury. Either way, he’ll reach the open market again this winter on the heels of a solid 2021-22  showing in Triple-A and having posted a combined 3.52 ERA with a 30.5% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate in 23 big league innings between San Francisco (21 2/3) and Atlanta (1 1/3) over the past two seasons.

Braves Notes: Soroka, O’Day, Albies, Acuna

By | at

The Braves announced this afternoon that righty Mike Soroka has been activated from the 60-day injured list. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, Atlanta transferred reliever Darren O’Day from the 15-day to the 60-day IL.

Soroka hasn’t thrown a major league pitch since August 2020. He ruptured his right Achilles tendon while trying to get off the mound to cover first base, a devastating injury that has kicked off multiple years of rehab. His efforts to return last season were cut short in June when Soroka suffered another Achilles tear while walking to the team’s clubhouse. He underwent a second surgery and has been trying to work his way back. He suffered an unrelated setback this July when he took a comebacker off the knee while throwing live batting practice, leading to another shutdown.

Six weeks later, Soroka made it back to a professional mound. He kicked off a rehab assignment with High-A Rome on August 16, and he’s since made two appearances with Gwinnett. He worked 4 2/3 innings and threw 75 pitches during his outing last Saturday. That’ll technically be his final rehab start now that he’s back on the 40-man roster, but the club will give him a bit more time with the Stripers to find his form. With five weeks left in the regular season, it seems likely we’ll see Soroka back on the Truist Park mound this month. How he pitches could well determine whether the club carries him on their postseason roster.

Despite having missed two seasons, Soroka just recently turned 25 years old. Before the Achilles tears, he looked like one of the better young arms in the sport. The former first-rounder pitched to a 2.68 ERA with a very strong 51.2% ground-ball rate over 174 2/3 innings in 2019, his age-21 season. He and the team agreed to a $2.8MM salary to avoid arbitration during Spring Training. He’ll be in line for a similar amount this winter and is controllable through 2024.

O’Day has been out since the All-Star Break after straining his left calf. Signed to a minor league deal over the offseason, the veteran submariner made the Opening Day roster. O’Day has been an excellent, if unconventional, late-game reliever for much of the past decade. The 2022 season had been more pedestrian even before the injury, however. Through 21 2/3 innings, the 39-year-old owns a 4.15 ERA with a strong 27.7% strikeout percentage but a career-high 10.6% walk rate.

Today’s IL transfer shouldn’t have much of an effect on O’Day, who still looks likely to factor into the bullpen mix for manager Brian Snitker late in the season. The 60-day minimal stint backdates to his original placement on July 12, so he’ll be eligible to return to the big league club next weekend. O’Day has been on a rehab assignment with Gwinnett, working seven innings over as many appearances.

Soroka and O’Day aren’t the only injured players who are planning to make it back from long-term absences this month. Ozzie Albies has been out of action since fracturing his left foot on June 13, but he’s closing in on a return. Albies began a rehab assignment in Gwinnett tonight, taking four at-bats while serving as the designated hitter. It was his first game action since the injury, and it opens the 20-day window allotted to position players for rehab stints. Barring a setback, he should be back in Atlanta by the middle of September.

Since Albies went down, the Braves have used a revolving door at second base. Orlando Arcia, Phil Gosselin and Ehire Adrianza have each gotten some work, but the job has finally fallen on rookie Vaughn Grissom. A highly-regarded prospect, Grissom is off to a .312/.354/.468 start through his first 21 MLB games. Those numbers have been propped up by a .344 batting average on balls in play, but the 21-year-old has also already connected on three home runs and has only gone down on strikes 13 times (15.9% of his plate appearances).

How the Braves will divvy up playing time when everyone’s healthy remains to be seen. That’s an enviable problem to have, of course, with an infield of Matt Olson, Albies, Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley arguably the best in baseball. If the Braves want to keep Grissom’s bat in the lineup, the cleanest path to playing time could be at designated hitter, although that’d present its own complications.

The Braves have rotated hot-hitting backup catcher William Contreras through the DH spot, and they’ve occasionally used those at-bats to get Ronald Acuña Jr. off his feet. Acuña, who tore the ACL in his right knee last July, told reporters last night the surgically-repaired joint feels “terrible” (via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Acuña has remained in the lineup and maintained that he’ll play through the pain for the rest of the season, but the Braves may want to continue easing his workload on defense before postseason play gets underway.

Braves Targeting Mid-Late August Return For Ozzie Albies

By | at

The Braves have been without Ozzie Albies for a month, as the star second baseman fractured his left foot on June 13. Atlanta immediately placed him on the 60-day injured list, and he underwent surgery a few days later. The club maintained they expected him to play again this season, but they didn’t provide an estimated return date beyond ruling him out for two-plus months.

It seems Atlanta’s hopeful Albies can return around when he’s first eligible. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos tells Jeff Schultz of the Athletic the club is “probably looking at mid- to late-August or worst case the beginning of September” for Albies’ return. The two-time All-Star has progressed to 75% weight bearing on the foot, according to the Atlanta president.

Second base has been a major problem for the Braves since Albies went down. Atlanta has gotten a meager .232/.287/.303 showing in 108 plate appearances at the position over the past month. The bulk of that time has gone to utilityman Orlando Arcia, with Phil Gosselin (who has since been designated for assignment) also chipping in. Arcia’s and Gosselin’s struggles reached the point the Braves swung a deal for Robinson Canó and added the veteran to the major league roster on Monday.

Adding Canó shouldn’t prevent Anthopoulos from seeking further upgrades at the position. The veteran had been hitting well in Triple-A but struggled enough with both the Mets and Padres in the big leagues he was released from both clubs. Atlanta’s acquisition cost for Canó was marginal — they sent cash considerations to San Diego in return — and the Braves figure to be willing to move on quickly if he struggles again. However, the possibility of welcoming Albies back four-to-six weeks from now could diminish the urgency to add infield talent closer to the deadline.

That’s particularly true given how thin this summer’s infield trade market appears to be. Of MLBTR’s top 50 trade candidates, only three (Brandon Drury, Whit Merrifield and Donovan Solano) are capable of playing second base. Players like César Hernández and Tony Kemp would be available stopgap options but didn’t make MLBTR’s list amidst arguably career-worst years.

Asked generally about the possibility of upgrading before the deadline, Anthopoulos suggested the club had yet to narrow down specific target areas. He expressed confidence in the club’s overall depth and told Schultz they’re prepared to cast a wider net than last season, when the front office responded to Ronald Acuña Jr.’s season-ending injury by striking two weeks early to acquire Joc Pederson from the Cubs. “It’s very different than last year. We’ve had injuries this year, but we have a lot of depth,” Anthopoulos told Schultz. “I would say right now it’s critical to watch the team and obviously our health. It might be one of those things where we don’t have a true glaring area, but we definitely have areas where we can improve. Because once the deadline (passes), we can’t add. But we’re not there yet. We haven’t made any decisions.”

The Braves are also expecting a return from reliever Kirby Yates a few weeks down the line. The 2019 All-Star has barely pitched over the past two and a half seasons. He missed most of the shortened 2020 campaign battling elbow issues, then underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2021 that wiped out all of last year. The right-hander signed a two-year deal over the winter with an eye on a midseason comeback, and a return to the big leagues is getting closer into view.

Yates is set to begin a rehab assignment at the club’s Florida complex on Saturday, tweets Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Pitchers are typically allowed up to 30 days on rehab stints, but that window can be (and often is) extended for players working back from TJS. Anthopoulos told Schultz that Yates’ progress over the next couple weeks could factor into whether they feel a need to add another right-hander to the bullpen via trade. During his last healthy season, Yates tossed 60 2/3 innings of 1.19 ERA ball for the 2019 Padres, leading the majors with 41 saves.

Ozzie Albies Undergoes Foot Surgery, Expected To Return This Season

By | at

4:43pm: Toscano writes that the Braves do anticipate Albies being able to return at some point this season.

2:43pm: Ozzie Albies recently underwent surgery to repair the fracture in his left foot, tweets Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It isn’t clear what impact, if any, the procedure has on his recovery timeline. In any event, Albies won’t be back until at least mid-August after landing on the 60-day injured list yesterday.

Albies fractured his foot during Monday night’s win over the Nationals. He stumbled out of the batter’s box after hitting a ground-ball, and the club announced the fracture diagnosis within an hour of his departing the game. Atlanta wasted no time in putting him on the 60-day IL the next morning, selecting utilityman Phil Gosselin to take his roster spot. Orlando Arcia will be the club’s primary second baseman for the foreseeable future.

A two-time All-Star, Albies had been off to a bit of a slow start this year, posting a personal-worst .244/.289/.405 line through 263 trips to the plate. Arcia has hit well through 18 games this season, but he’s a career .245/.296/.368 hitter at the major league level. The Braves will presumably want to see whether he can keep performing at anywhere near this season’s .327/.393/.519 pace, but it seems likely the club will at least look into possible acquisitions before the August 2 trade deadline — particularly if Arcia’s bat cools in the next month.

The Braves have won 13 in a row, pulling themselves within five games of the NL East-leading Mets entering play Wednesday. At 36-27, Atlanta currently occupies the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League, holding a two-game advantage over the Brewers.

Braves Select Phil Gosselin, Place Ozzie Albies On 60-Day Injured List

By | at

The Braves announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of veteran infielder Phil Gosselin from Triple-A Gwinnett. Ozzie Albies, who suffered a fractured left foot in last night’s game, has been placed on the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the active and 40-man rosters.

It’s something of a homecoming for Gosselin, who was originally drafted by the Braves in the fifth round of the 2010 draft and made his big league debut with the team in 2013. Much has changed with the Braves since Gosselin was with the big league club from 2013-15, but he ought to be quite familiar with current manager Brian Snitker, a Braves organization lifer who has extensive experience coaching and managing throughout the Braves’ minor league system.

Gosselin returned to the Braves on a minor league deal this offseason and began the season with their Triple-A affiliate, where he’s slashed .297/.358/.473 through 204 plate appearances. He’s played more third base than any other position in the minors this year, but the Braves have also given Gosselin time at second base, first base and in the outfield corners. That’s nothing new for Gosselin, who has played every position other than catcher and pitcher in his professional career.

Since being traded from the Braves to the D-backs, Gosselin has bounced around the league and now seen time with seven teams. He’s settled in as a journeyman utility player, often filling a need but rarely sticking in any one place too long due in large part to a lack of offensive contributions. Gosselin sports a solid .261 batting average in 1122 career plate appearances, but he’s paired that with a below-average .314 on-base percentage and a very light .362 slugging percentage. For teams in need of a serviceable fill-in basically anywhere on the infield — just the situation in which the Braves currently find themselves — the 33-year-old has proven himself a fine role player.

Gosselin figures to see occasional action at second base in place of Albies, but Orlando Arcia is the likeliest option for regular work at the position while Albies mends. Acquired from the Brewers early in the 2021 campaign, Arcia is out to a .313/.393/.458 start in a small sample of 56 plate appearances this year. The former top prospect has a much more tepid .244/.296/.366 batting line in his overall big league career, however, so fans shouldn’t expect Arcia to continue hitting anywhere near that torrid pace.

Depending on Albies’ outlook and whether surgery is required, it’s possible the Braves could look to the trade market to add a more clear-cut starting option. If, however, Albies is expected back by season’s end, the Braves could opt for a piecemeal approach to their newfound second base shortage. Albies will technically be eligible to return on Aug. 13, but as of yet, the Braves have provided neither an update on how the injury will be treated nor on when Albies can be expected to return.

Ozzie Albies Suffers Foot Fracture

By | at

The Braves announced that second baseman Ozzie Albies has fractured his left foot. He departed tonight’s game against the Nationals in the fifth inning after suffering the injury.

Albies stumbled out of the batter’s box after hitting a ground-ball to shortstop. He was able to walk off the field under his own power, but he immediately departed the game and initial x-rays revealed a fracture. The club will no doubt provide a more specific timetable for his recovery over the coming days, but it’s likely he’s in for an extended absence.

The switch-hitting Albies has started 61 of Atlanta’s 62 games at the keystone. The lone other start went to utilityman Orlando Arcia, who’d seem to be the likeliest candidate to take over the position moving forward. Aside from the starting infield of Matt Olson, Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley, the only other primary infielders on the Atlanta 40-man roster are first baseman/DH Mike Ford and recent waiver claim Kramer Robertson. The latter is capable of playing second base but has exactly one MLB plate appearance under his belt.

Arcia has hit well in limited playing time off the bench this season, but he’s been a below-average offensive player in every other year of his career. The former Brewer shortstop is a lifetime .244/.295/.365 hitter in a bit more than 2000 plate appearances at the big league level. Albies is a two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger Award winner who has been above-average at the dish in every full season of his career.

Albies had been off to a bit of a slow start this year, as he owns a personal-worst .244/.289/.405 line through 263 trips to the plate. He’d rated well defensively, though, and his career track record suggested he was likely to turn the corner offensively. Those efforts will now be put on hold.

The Braves have been playing as well as anyone in the sport over the past few weeks. They’re amidst an 11-game win streak that has pushed them to 34-27 entering play Monday. A slow start coupled with the Mets’ excellent first couple months still has Atlanta five and a half games back in the NL East standings, but the defending champions currently occupy the league’s third and final Wild Card spot.

Depending on how long Albies is expected to miss, general manager Alex Anthopoulos and his staff could turn to the trade market for help. Players such as Brandon Drury (Reds), Rougned Odor (Orioles) and César Hernández (Nationals) are impending free agents on non-competitive teams and aren’t going to demand a huge trade return. If the club looks internally for depth behind Arcia, non-roster veterans Phil Gosselin, Hernán Pérez and Pat Valaika are at Triple-A Gwinnett, as is recent waiver claim Joe Dunand. Gosselin, in particular, is hitting well with the Stripers this season.

Ozzie Albies Avoids Major Injury, Considered Day-To-Day

By | at

Sept. 1: Albies has thankfully avoided a major injury, it would seem. David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets that x-rays on his knee came back negative, and manager Brian Snitker for now is considering Albies day-to-day. At the moment, there’s no expectation he’ll land on the injured list, although that outlook could change depending on how Albies feels in the next couple of days as he mends.

Aug. 31: Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies suffered an injury to his left leg/knee area in the fifth inning of tonight’s game against the Dodgers. Hitting left-handed, Albies fouled a ball off his leg and was unable to put weight on it as he attempted to walk off the field. He was carried back to the dugout by two members of the training staff.

The team hasn’t yet provided an update on Albies’ status. It’s still possible the 24-year-old will avoid serious injury, but it’s a scary situation for the NL East-leading Braves. Albies is having another quality season, hitting .259/.317/.482 with 23 home runs over 564 plate appearances while rating as a high-end defender and baserunner.

Ehire Adrianza came off the bench to hit for Albies. The utilityman could be in line for additional playing time if Albies requires an injured list stint. Orlando Arcia and Johan Camargo also remain on hand as infield depth options at Triple-A Gwinnett.

Braves Reinstate Ozzie Albies From 10-Day IL, Option Johan Camargo

By | at

Ozzie Albies is back on the Braves’ active roster, as the second baseman was activated from the 10-day injured list after missing over a month due to a bone contusion in his right wrist.  In the corresponding move, infielder Johan Camargo was optioned to the Braves’ alternate training site.

Albies played in only 11 games and was hitting .159/.196/.273 in 46 PA before being sidelined, though the Braves are hoping that a fully recovered Albies will now look more like his past All-Star form.  Albies’ return should only enhance the Braves’ already-strong offense, and considering how Atlanta’s rotation has been ravaged by injuries, the Braves may need to slug their way through the pennant race until they can get some of their top hurlers back.

Camargo and Adeiny Hechavarria handled much of the second base duty while Albies was out, and Camargo will now head to the alternate site while the veteran Hechavarria remains as Atlanta’s lone current utility infield choice.  The hitting struggles that plagued Camargo in 2019 have carried over to this season, as he has batted just .200/.244/.367 with four home runs in 127 plate appearances.

Cole Hamels, Ozzie Albies Nearing Returns

By | at

When the Braves signed Cole Hamels to a one-year, $18MM deal, he checked all the right boxes: veteran, short-term deal, fierce competitor, playoff-tested, particularly painful for a playoff rival. But triceps tendinitis has kept Hamels from the hill and forced the Braves to turn to Plan B lefties like Tommy Milone, Sean Newcomb, and Robbie Erlin. Some solutions have worked better than others, but despite a rotation in constant flux, Atlanta holds a 2-game lead in the NL East with less than 20 games to play.

Their need for Hamels is no less intense, however, because while the season itself has gone by in the blink of an eye, the playoffs will actually be longer than usual. For a team with back-to-back NLDS losses, the Braves are well aware of the potential pitfalls awaiting them in the postseason. So it’s not a moment too soon that Hamels could be nearing his return.

The veteran lefty threw live batting practice to Ozzie Albies on Sunday, leaving the Braves encouraged about the potential return of both players, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter). The Braves will wait another couple of days before letting Hamels throw a similar session, but if there are no red flags, Hamels could return to the rotation shortly thereafter.

As with many pitchers who have returned in this single-league environment – such as Charlie Morton of the Rays – Hamels may ease back into the rotation with 1-2 inning outings at a time. That doesn’t give the Braves and Hamels unlimited time to get him on track before the postseason, but he could still get 2-3 tune-ups before the playoffs.

Hamels has run hot-and-cold in recent seasons with the Chicago Cubs, nonetheless sustaining the comeback that began with 12 starts of a 2.36 ERA to finish 2018 after his exile in Texas. In his lone full season with the Cubs, Hamels went 7-7 in 27 starts with a 3.81 ERA/4.09 FIP over 141 2/3 innings. Hamels could return to the roster as soon as Monday, per Baseball America’s Gabe Burns (via Twitter). The Braves certainly don’t want to rush the 36-year-old back into action, but with Max Fried going on the injured list, there’s cause for urgency in Atlanta.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top