Braves must find replacement for replacement as injuries strike

The wave of injuries in Atlanta is more like a tsunami. Not only has the team lost five regular players for at least two months each, but they are now forced to replace one injured player with another.

The team's best pitcher, 20-game winning pitcher Spencer Strider, started twice before having to undergo internal splinting surgery on his throwing arm. A month later, reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuna, Jr., tore his ACL and, like Spencer, landed on the list of players out for the rest of the season.

Catcher Sean Murphy, second baseman Ozzie Albies, third baseman Austin Riley and center fielder Michael Harris II all missed at least two months due to various injuries.

Alex Anthopoulos, the Braves' head of baseball operations, worked harder than the Dutch boy with his finger in the dyke, signing outfielders Ramon Laureano, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler, third baseman Gio Urshela, multi-position infielders Whit Merrifield and Cavan Biggio, and relief pitchers Luke Jackson and John Brebbia.

Most were dumped by other clubs because of poor performance, high salaries, advanced age or all of the above reasons.

For months, the team has seemed in the grip of an invisible, malevolent force. Those who can play seem to be doing their job by the book, unable to hit, run or field – a strange phenomenon for a team that led the majors with 104 wins last year, set a record with 307 home runs and posted a .501 slugging average – the first time a team has ever posted a composite slugging average of at least .500.

The latest disaster involves Merrifield, who struggled in Philadelphia due to a lack of playing time but was quickly called into service by the Braves to replace the small but dynamic Albies.

Before he ever appeared on an Atlanta game report, Merrifield injured his finger while practicing in the infield. Then he missed more time when he was hit in the head by an errant pitch. On the day he returned, he hit a ball against his left leg, causing a fracture, though doctors said he could return within a week because the fracture was so small.

Since he has a lot to gain, he can endure the pain. Or at least that's the theory.

Not all of Atlanta's replacement candidates have proven themselves.

Before he was released again, Rosario was never able to regain the form that made him the Most Valuable Player of the National League Championship Series in 2021. Adam Duvall, another hero of that World Championship season, slumped after signing as a free agent during spring training.

The same goes for Soler, the MVP of the 2021 World Series, whose power hit, however, seems to have disappeared into cyberspace.

He not only left his heart in San Francisco, but also his swing.

Laureano, released by Cleveland, showed some life after arriving at Truist Park, but Jackson, acquired at the last minute in the Soler trade with the Giants, threw so poorly that he rarely played.

The Braves had hoped that Jackson and Brebbia, who had been signed by the struggling Chicago White Sox after his release, would enjoy the chance to pitch in important games.

With just weeks to go on the schedule, Atlanta lost the first of three wild-card spots and fell one game behind the suddenly storming New York Mets, a development Chris (Mad Dog) Russo had predicted months ago on his MLB Network show. High heat.

Despite a team-record payroll of $233 million, which ranks sixth in the major leagues according to Roster Resource, the Braves struggled after starting the season with 19 wins in their first 26 games.

The injury wave also plagued soon-to-be-out-of-contract Max Fried, a 30-year-old left-hander who was hoping to boost his price with a strong second half. He was one of three Atlanta starters on the National League All-Star team, but suffered neuritis in his left forearm that cost him several weeks.

Fellow All-Star Reynaldo Lopez signed a three-year, $30 million contract that allowed him to escape the crumbling Chicago White Sox and also found himself on the injured list for part of the season.

Only two players escaped the second Atlanta fire.

Veteran left-hander Chris Sale, acquired from the Boston Red Sox in the best signing of the offseason, has returned to form and is a strong candidate for the Cy Young Award, which he has never won.

And designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, who was nearly eliminated a year ago after his .085 batting average in his first month, launched a bold bid for the Triple Crown, which no National League player had won since 1937.

Recently, however, the team-wide slump has weakened Ozuna's hitting power, and he hit his 37th and final home run on August 20.

With clean man Matt Olson also caught in an inexplicable power vacuum, Atlanta has had trouble scoring all summer.

Last year, the Braves only kept a clean sheet twice, and this season they have done so nine times.

It doesn't matter that a year ago Olson led the majors with 54 home runs and 139 runs batted in.

Albies and Riley are both recovering from hand injuries and are expected back in time for the playoffs – assuming Atlanta makes it there.

The Braves have won the National League East Division crown for six consecutive years – the longest active winning streak in the major leagues – but must settle for a wild-card spot after losing three of four games in Philadelphia last weekend.

With players falling like dominoes, the team must prevent those still standing from falling over in the final weeks.

The Braves, Diamondbacks, Padres and Mets are the four teams battling for three wild card spots. Only New York, currently the hottest of the four teams, missed the playoffs entirely a year ago.