The Atlanta Braves open a crucial three-game series with the New York Mets on Tuesday night, and will do so without third baseman Austin Riley. Riley has not played since an errant pitch broke his right hand on Aug. 18. The Braves have played the last several weeks without Riley and Ronald Acuña Jr., and also Ozzie Albies for a stretch. It’s been rough injury year in Atlanta.
At the time of Riley’s injury, the original 6-8 week timetable left open the possibility that he could return late in the regular season or at some point during the postseason. That is no longer the case. Recent tests showed Riley’s hand has not healed enough. His season is over. The Braves will not get him back even if they make a deep postseason run to the NLCS or World Series.
The Braves signed Gio Urshela off the scrap heap two days after Riley’s injury and he’s started 30 of the team’s 32 games since. Urshela has given Atlanta a .270/.289/.423 batting line with three homers and average defense that has looked better to the eye test. He is a plus-0.8 WAR player with the Braves after putting up minus-0.2 WAR with the Detroit Tigers.
It is impossible to replace a player as good as Riley, but, all things considered, Urshela has filled in about as well as the Braves could have possibly hoped. The timing worked out well — the Tigers released Urshela the day Riley got hurt — and Urshela has helped Atlanta weather the storm. The injury replacements are a big reason Atlanta is still in the race.
The Braves enter play Tuesday one game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the loss column for the third wild-card spot. They’re two games behind the Mets. New York can clinch a postseason berth with two wins in Atlanta this series. The Braves cannot clinch during this series, but it is their best (last?) chance to game significant ground in the race.
