Atlanta Braves Injury’s and News
Atlanta Braves Injury’s and News
The Braves have had a very odd year, to say the least. The Braves have had four of their core pieces go on the IL, and the historic offense from last year has gone MIA this year. In this article, I will talk about everything that has gone wrong for Atlanta and who has stepped up and filled the shoes of some of the other guys.
Reynaldo Lopez
Coming out of spring training, the Braves had a rotation of Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Chris Sale, Charlie Morton, and Reynaldo Lopez. Most fans, myself included, were wondering how Reynaldo was going to play in a rotation role, and all Braves fans can thank Alex Anthopoulos for yet another great pick-up. So far this season in nine starts, Lopez has a 1.75 ERA through 51.1 innings. Lopez has given up 10 ER, only allowing 2 HR, walking 18 and striking out 47. Lopez is currently third in the Braves total WAR, sitting at 1.8. I think a big reason why he’s having so much success is that he’s almost completely ditched his changeup, dropping it by 3.5% and increasing his use of curveballs and sliders. It is odd considering his changeup was his only other positive pitch type value last year, and his curveball and slider were both in the negatives. My guess would be that it’s another Strider approach where he’s going to hit you with high octane and low sliders on the black.
Chris Sale
Chris Sale was brought over from Boston in the Vaughn-Grissom trade on December 30, 2023. The trade was not a fan favorite, as many fans were expecting Vaughn to be the next shortstop after Dansby left, and he quickly became a fan favorite. Not long after the trade, the Braves gave Sale a 2-year deal worth $38 million and a club option for 2026. Sale was brought over to be the number 3-4 in an already-stacked rotation and has stepped up to be the number 1-2 he’s been his whole career. So far, this season is tied for second in wins, has the 8th lowest ERA, the 9th lowest BAA (batting average against), and has the second lowest WHIP. Sale has thrown 63.1 innings with 78 K’s and only 9 walks; that’s an 8.7 K/BB ratio that, if sustained, would be the highest of his career. Chris Sale has been a very good addition and has turned back the clock to the Sale of old!
Marcell Ozuna
Marcell Ozuna has by far been the spark plug for this lackluster offense. In April 2023, Marcell had a.085 BA in 59 AB, making him by far the worst hitter in baseball. On a road trip to Miami, Ozunas home in the offseason, he turned his whole season around hitting.275 with 40 HR and 100 RBI. Ozuna is by far the best offensive player on the Braves, slashing. 310/.394/.604 with 15 HRs and 47 RBI. Ozuna is second in WAR on the team with 1.9 and first on offense. So far, Marcell is continuing where he left off last year and is the bright spot in this lineup so far.
Sean Murphy
Opening Day in Philadelphia Sean Murphy was removed in the 7th inning due to oblique tightness. The Braves did not want to rush Murphy, as he almost missed two whole months. While Murphy was on the IL, Travis d’Arnaud and Chadwick Tromp held down the fort behind the plate, and although they didn’t do a bad job, getting his defense and bat back in the lineup will certainly help. Murphy tore up his rehab assignment, going 5-18 with 2 home runs. The Braves said they will ease him back into the role as they are carrying three catchers currently. Murphy was in the lineup on Monday and drove in a run.
Austin Riley
Austin Riley missed 13 games due to an intercostal strain. Riley has played in 159+ games from 2021 to 2023. In 38 games so far, Riley just hasn’t seemed to find any success. Even though all his numbers are lining up around his career average, he still hasn’t been able to get anything going. The good news is that Riley’s numbers start to pick up during June, and that’s one more hole that’s filled in this Atlanta lineup.
Matt Olson
Like Riley, Matt Olson has also not gotten it going; through 51 games, Olson has only 8 HR; through 51 games last year, Olson had 14 HR. Another eye-opening stat is that Olson is hitting .261 against fastballs this year compared to his .319 from last year; it is the lowest he has hit against the fastball since 2020. With that being said, he still ranks in the 96th percentile in average exit velocity and hard hit %.
Spencer Strider
Spencer Strider came into spring training this year as the Cy Young favorite and added a curveball to go with a high-octane fastball and wipeout slider. Strider in 2023 went 20-5, tallying 186.2 innings (the highest of his career), striking out 281 and walking 58. In his 2 starts in 2024, Strider went 5.0, 3 H, 2R, 2BB, and 8K against the Phillies. In his next start against the Diamondbacks, he went 4.0, 7 H, 5 R, 3 BB, and 4 K. After that game, he was put on the injured list with a loose bone fragment in his UCL, ultimately needing season-ending surgery. My opinion is that it was probably a combination of pitching the most in his career, along with the stress from the newly learned curveball. So far, Atlanta has been fine without him, but only time will tell.
Ronald Acuña Jr
Here it is, the big one. Ronald Acuña, coming off a historic MVP season, has not performed at his best so far this year. So far this year, Acuña has only produced .1 WAR after a season with 8.2 WAR. Braves fans could tell something was off with Acuña as his timing wasn’t all there and he just seemed off. Acuña was even asked what was happening, and he said, “I don’t know if it’s timing or not, but right now I’m not that good." Right before the season started, Acuña had some soreness in his right knee during spring training and missed some time in spring training because of it. On May 26, Ronald was in his secondary lead when he went to pivot back to second, and he collapsed to the ground in excruciating pain. Acuña, not even 36 months after his first ACL injury, had completely tore his opposite ACL, missing the remainder of the season. What happens to Acuña after this knee surgery will yet to be determined, but this is a huge blow to a struggling offense that is six games behind the Phillies.