Austin Riley may require an injury list stint

The Braves’ offensive rut continued over the weekend, as they scored only two runs in two games against the Padres, losing both.

Outside of Marcell Ozuna, no one has been able to get things going offensively, and the absence of two All-Stars doesn’t help matters.

Sean Murphy has been out since Opening Day, but the good news is that his rehab assignment begins tomorrow, so we could see him back in Atlanta in about a week.

Sean Murphy will begin his rehab assignment on Tuesday with Triple-A Gwinnett.

— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) May 19, 2024

Austin Riley has also been out of the Braves lineup since last Sunday, when he departed the game against the Mets with tightness in his side. He has so far evaded the IL, but this may not last much longer.

Prior to Saturday’s postponed game, Austin Riley stated that he had not even began swinging the bat. He conducted some fielding drills yesterday, but it does not appear that he is ready to return to the lineup.

Austin Riley wouldn’t commit to being ready for the upcoming Cubs series and he hasn’t even started to swing a bat yet. This would suggest an IL stint is still a possibility. But there’s not currently an obvious INF candidate to bring up to fill that role

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 18, 2024

Riley is feeling better today. He took ground balls on the field. If he feels good again tomorrow, he may be cleared to start swinging a bat again. They’ll ease him into the swinging process.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 19, 2024

As we’ve seen with Sean Murphy, these side injuries can be troublesome and last much longer than expected. Austin Riley initially had positive news when his MRI came back negative, but the Braves are appropriately cautious this early in the season. Hopefully, he’ll feel well enough to return this week; the Braves could really use his presence in the middle of the lineup.