Atlanta Braves three-time All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies fractured his left wrist on Sunday and will miss eight weeks.
The Braves said the severity of the injury was detected through X-rays taken after Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.
Albies was covering second base on a steal attempt by Michael Siani of the Cardinals in the ninth inning. Siani bumped into Albies’ glove hand as the latter tried to catch the ball and apply a tag.
Albies was in immediate pain and his glove flew off his hand. Braves manager Brian Snitker and a trainer rushed out and Albies quickly left the game.
During his postgame session, Snitker said he knew the injury update wouldn’t be good news.
“The runner hit it and that’s never good,” Snitker told reporters. “He’ll obviously go on the IL.”
Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud had a good view of the play after making the throw to second.
“The throw was up the line a little bit and (Albies) went to reach for the ball and the runner was there,” d’Arnaud told reporters. “Right away he grabbed his hand or his wrist or whatever it was. It didn’t look good. I tried to walk out there and see if he was alright, but obviously it wasn’t good. He knew. He was walking off the field right away.”
Albies, 27, went 2-for-4 on Sunday to raise his average to .258. He has eight homers and 46 RBIs in 90 games.
Albies has been a key player for the Braves since reaching the majors in 2017. He has smacked more than 20 homers on four occasions, including a career-best 33 last season. He has topped 100 RBIs twice and 100 runs three times.
Zack Short replaced Albies in Sunday’s game.
One possibility to replace Albies is Triple-A infielder Nacho Alvarez Jr., who is batting .336 with seven homers and 24 RBIs in 28 games at Gwinnett since being promoted from Double-A. Alvarez, 21, is Atlanta’s No. 5 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
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