The Braves have been with out second baseman Ozzie Albies for practically two months now as a result of a fractured left wrist, and since then the membership has needed to depend on veterans like Whit Merrifield and Cavan Biggio who have been added following his damage to deal with the keystone. Whereas Merrifield has carried out admirably in Albies’s absence with a .269/.374/.370 slash line with Atlanta, the membership is unquestionably anxious to return the three-time All-Star to the lineup because the Braves struggle to stay in a playoff spot with simply two weeks to go within the common season.
When supervisor Brian Snitker and Albies himself spoke to reporters on Friday concerning the second baseman’s standing, the replace was considerably blended. Snitker (as relayed by David O’Brien of The Athletic) raised some alarms for Braves followers by saying he wasn’t certain if Albies would play once more this yr earlier than clarifying that as a result of Albies remains to be feeling discomfort in his injured wrist solely when he bats from the left aspect, the switch-hitter would be capable of return if he was prepared to bat from the precise aspect solely down the stretch. Per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, Albies is prepared to drop switch-hitting in the interim with the intention to return to the lineup and hopes to be again someday subsequent week.
Albies, 27, has batted a lot better whereas hitting right-handed all through his profession, together with this yr the place he’s posted a 151 wRC+ in opposition to left-handed pitching for the Braves in comparison with an 80 wRC+ in opposition to righties. It’s the same however much less excessive story over his profession as a complete, as he’s posted a 146 wRC+ whereas batting right-handed and a 96 wRC+ whereas batting left-handed. It gained’t be the primary time Albies has confronted right-handed pitching whereas as a right-handed batter in his profession, though his expertise in that regard has been restricted to simply 14 plate appearances all through his MLB profession. With that being stated, that extraordinarily small pattern dimension has seen him discover a substantial amount of success as he’s gone 3-for-11 with three walks and two homers in these handful of journeys to the plate.
Extra from across the NL East…
- The Mets suffered a little bit of an damage scare final night time when outfielder Starling Marte was struck by a pitch on the forearm from right-hander Jeff Hoffman in final night time’s loss to Philadelphia. Marte remained within the recreation to run the bases and play the outfield, however supervisor Carlos Mendoza advised reporters (as relayed by SNY) that the veteran was scheduled to endure “precautionary” x-rays on his forearm to ensure that the 35-year-old hasn’t suffered a extra critical damage. Marte has hit a good .271/.320/.399 in 83 video games with the Mets this yr however has struggled a bit on the plate since getting back from the IL final month, with a lackluster .241/.286/.328 slash line in 17 video games since being activated. If Marte misses time, it appears possible that Jesse Winker will slide right into a extra common function with the membership down the stretch.
- The Phillies have been with out third baseman Alec Bohm since late August as a result of a strained hand, however it appears that evidently might change within the coming days as supervisor Rob Thomson not too long ago advised reporters (together with The Athletic’s Matt Gelb) that Bohm has “proven progress” in his restoration. He’s presently on a rehab task at Triple-A however might be again with the massive league membership as quickly as Monday. The return of Bohm to the beginning lineup would offer an enormous increase for Philadelphia, as with Edmundo Sosa additionally on the IL (and, coincidentally, becoming a member of Bohm on his Triple-A rehab task) the massive league membership has needed to depend on a mixture of Kody Clemens, Weston Wilson, and Buddy Kennedy on the scorching nook in latest weeks. 2024 has been one thing of a breakout season for Bohm, who has slashed a robust .290/.343/.462 in 131 video games this yr.
