Atlanta Braves: What does the loss of Austin Riley mean?
The Atlanta Braves early second-half stagnation has been further complicated with the amassing of significant injuries to their roster. They do indeed have depth, yet some areas are deeper than others. Austin Riley recent injury has set them back even further, possibly placing them in a precarious situation.
The upstart Atlanta Braves are a young club and with a roster brimming with such young talent, the consequences are a period of doldrums. Austin Riley is a perfect embodiment of this fact.
The slugging right-hander burst onto the scene at a torrid pace- blasting seven home runs and posting an OPS above 1.140 in his first half-month. The league eventually became wise to him a month later- his OBP plummeting from .388 to .326. However, his power remained he launched seven more homers in June and held a very respectable .491 SLG for that month.
It all came crashing down in July in which Riley only hit two home runs and had a rather pitiful OPS of .480. His August barely started before he came up with a weight room knee injury. The report is that he has a partial tear of the lateral collateral ligament- LCL- of his knee. It is unclear, at this juncture, if any surgery will be required, as evaluations and second options will be undertaken over the weekend and into Monday.
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Riley’s loss may not be perceived as a major one, considering his recent struggles, however, the Braves have recently been besieged by injuries. Nick Markakis and Dansby Swanson are both on the injured list and are not believed to be anywhere near returning. This forces Johan Camargo, Adam Duvall, and Ender Inciarte into everyday roles, which is far from ideal.
The great part about Atlanta’s roster versatility and depth is that players could remain fresh by being rotated in and out. These players could likely have solid individual performances, while still damaging the lineup as a whole. They cannot replicate Swanson defense or Riley’s pure power, currently leaving Atlanta with basically no depth.
The return of Mike Foltynewicz could very possibly stabilize the rotation along with the continued strong performances of Mike Soroka and Max Fried. This rotation could not possibly be deemed as fully dominant, though, because while Julio Teheran and Dallas Keuchel are stolid, they cannot make up for the offensive losses.
The bullpen looked to be in good shape, considering the deadline additions, yet Shane Greene and Chris Martin both imploded in their first appearances- surrendering seven earned runs in less than six innings between the two. All this is to say that Atlanta is in an awkward position.
One might reasonably ask, why should the Braves have to worry? They are not pilling up losses and they built a sizeable division lead. However, from the depths of irrelevancy, which had firmly grasped the New York Mets a mere 14 days ago, has arisen a playoff contender. This surging opponent has a specific quality that causes other NL East teams to quiver, the blessing of a dominant rotation.
The Mets can offer Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, and Marcus Stroman at any opponent, basically giving them a chance to win any night. They also have a lineup that is equally formidable to the current status of the Braves.
Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, and Jeff McNeil match up nicely with Freddie Freeman, Ronald Acuna, and Josh Donaldson. This is not to say they are even, it just indicates there is no longer a gaping disparity, as there once was.
There is another looming threat in the division, that of the Nationals with a healthy and reinvigorated Max Scherzer. With Scherzer back, the Nationals are probably the only other MLB team, aside from the Houston Astros, that can compare with the quality and depth of the Mets rotation.
The only solution for the Braves is to win. Reinforcements are not coming – the August waiver deadline has been removed in 2019 – and those injured players are not likely to return quickly. The Braves’ lead gives them time, but the remaining games against the Mets and Nationals have to have them thinking.
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On its face, the loss of Riley seems an afterthought, however, coupled with the chaotic state of the National League in 2019, the Braves injuries have created a significantly weakened roster.