Austin Riley injury: Braves sign Gio Urshela to fill gap at third base in desperate fight for playoffs

An all-too-familiar theme for the Braves this season is desperately trying to replace a key player who has suffered a serious injury. It started early with Spencer Strider, continued with Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies, and most recently with Austin Riley, who was diagnosed with a serious injury. a broken hand on MondayHe is expected to be out for six to eight weeks, so the Braves are looking for reinforcements at the third position.

This late in the year, their options seem to be Yuli Gurriel and Gio Urshela.

The Braves and Urshela, who was released by the Tigers on Sunday, have agreed to a major league contract, the team announced Tuesday. In 92 games with Detroit this season, Urshela hit .243/.286/.333 (73 OPS+) with five home runs and 37 RBI. He was last a productive hitter in 2022, but at least he's been playing a lot of third base lately.

In the minors sits the 40-year-old Gurriel, who spent the entire season at Triple-A Gwinnett. In 72 games, he's batted .300/.380/.498, with 18 doubles, 12 home runs, 48 ​​RBI, 38 runs and 11 steals. Those are good offensive numbers, though the former AL batting champion was last a productive MLB hitter in 2021. The team plans to give him some work at third base to see if he's a viable option, according to Sherman. Gurriel hasn't played third base in the majors since 2021 and hasn't started there since 2019. That speaks to the desperation the Braves feel.

The Braves returned home having won five of their last seven games on the West Coast. They occupy the final NL wild-card spot, a game and a half ahead of the Mets and seven games behind the Phillies. Atlanta hosts the Phillies for three games starting Tuesday, so there's a chance to tighten up the NL East race.

Of course, the Braves have a very thin lineup right now due to injuries, and the loss of Riley only makes things worse. They're hoping to catch a streak of good fortune from Gurriel and/or Urshela down the stretch.