It appears the lumbar strain that sent Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte to the injured list May 15 will keep him out for “a while longer,” Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Braves manager Brian Snitker said Saturday that Inciarte’s back is “still barking a little bit and giving him some problems,” adding he’s not ready to resume baseball activities.
A Brave since 2016, Inciarte was a valuable member of the club in his first three Atlanta seasons, combining for 8.9 fWAR in 1,956 plate appearances. Inciarte mixed roughly league-average offense with splendid defense and high-end base running in that span to make him one of the majors’ most underrated regulars. The Braves liked what they saw from the get-go, as they inked Inciarte to an extension worth a guaranteed $30.525MM in December 2016 – one year after robbing him from the Diamondbacks.
Although the 28-year-old Inciarte has generally been a solid cog for the Braves, 2019 has been a tough go so far. Before he went on the IL, Inciarte hit a career-worst .218/.300/.323 (64 wRC+) in 140 trips to the plate. A .260 batting average on balls in play, down from a .315 lifetime mean, has contributed to that unattractive line. At the same time, though, Inciarte has swung and missed more than ever en route to the lowest contact rate of his career. He’s also running a paltry .276 expected weighted on-base average that ranks toward the bottom of the majors and almost matches an even weaker .273 wOBA.
Inciarte’s injury has continued to help usher in a youth movement for Atlanta, a team that’s chock-full of young contributors. His IL placement led the club to shift budding superstar left fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. to center and promote touted prospect Austin Riley, who has dazzled in the majors since his May 15 debut. Riley’s presence has helped lift the Braves to an 8-3 record without Inciarte, giving the reigning NL East champions a 29-24 overall mark. Should that keep up, Inciarte may not be in for daily playing time when he’s able to return. The Braves have Josh Donaldson locked into Riley’s usual position (third base), after all, while durable right fielder Nick Markakis seldom sits and has gotten on base a hefty 38 percent of the time this year.
hate it when my back barks
Trade him for pitching
I remember all the people on this site that wanted to trade Riley for MLB pitching or whatever. Braves did the smart thing and stayed the course. Now they will be in position to sign Kimbrel or Keuchel. Still right in the thick of the division too, with a little luck like the Spankees have had they’d probably be in first place right now.
Not everyone.
Nor I
should try to package him with a mid-tier prospect for a Giants RP or add a little more for Bum
I don’t understand why the Giants would want Ender when they are about to rebuild.
Because Zaidi is a moron, hired by the same people who thought Bobby Evans was going to be a good GM.
Meanwhile you would never no the Dodgers don’t have a GM as things seem to be business as usual there.
Please go back to School before Replying
Ha you think the giants are smart enough to rebuild? LOL
Won 3 WS this decade after a rebuild, so that’s a pretty dumb remark.
No can do….Atlanta is on bums no trade list
Not true. He did it to get leverage and have a little bit of power. The 8 teams he chose are all good teams so he did it on purpose.
Robbing him from the dbacks. Gotta love it
The reminders will never go away.
‘back still barking’…a.k.a ‘Austin Riley is still raking and we’re not taking him out’..
ding ding ding
lol
Keep him as a 4th OF where he is best fits anyway. He will get plenty of ABs and he will be a great defensive replacement for Riley in late innings.
After this year Markakis & Donaldson are gone so Riley moves back to 3rd. Pache & Waters are not ready yet so Inciarte will be important for next year. In all honesty with Riley’s arrival the only guy I see moveable is Camargo. And that would be selling low. But something has to be done soon.
I see AA signing Kimbrel after the draft and trading prospects for another RP. I know MadBum is being talked about but I would rather Stroman.
Can’t get bum…the ATL is on his no trade list
Not true. He did it to get leverage and have a little bit of power. The 8 teams he chose are all good teams so he did it on purpose.
If the MLB was going to approve the DH for the NL they need to do it this year to open everyone up to getting JDM in the offseason. AA has a lot of money built up for spending. We can definitely afford it and I wouldn’t only partially fill the spot with a bench piece.
AA I’m sure you or someone of your team patrols Braves related articles, if they dont do that get in touch with me. AA I can see how tough it is to upgrade a ballclub in the type of market we have combined with the crazy sheer numbers of how many players are injured right now and the rate they are getting injured at.
If the baseball is juiced, which we all know it is. I wonder how many arm injuries to pitchers and position players can attributed to the new baseball? I bet it is heavier than it used to be due to being wrapped inside differently or wrapped in a different material. Maybe because it is heavier its going threw the zone slower allowing the batters to square it up more.
Yikes! I guess there is really nothing better to do in Nebraska besides blowing a lot of Hot Air!
So you don’t believe the baseball is juiced in any way?
oh its juiced and you hear players thinking the same…must be wound tighter or using more rubber in the yarn…like I know what I’m talking about lol but it’s got more spring in it
“in the type of market we have “ ?? This isn’t necessarily directed at you but this sort of thing always gets me going…
The Atlanta Metropolitan area is soon to be the 8th largest in the United States and the Braves completely dominate the entire Southeastern US. They have a new stadium with a huge money making operation leading up to the front door so I don’t care how bad their TV contract supposedly is. There really is no excuse for them to not be spending significantly more than they are. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
In that point I ment market of players that are good but actually obtainable. Nobody trades good bonafide impact players not prospects. Not as much anymore and when they do it makes booming headlines on this site. See a lot of lottery type and salary dumps it seems.
Your point I also have about not spending but I can see AA problem about where to spend it. I think the thing that screwed AA the most was the rash of extensions. Trout came off the market. Yelich came off. Arenado came off. Plus many other big names. The only big name I see coming up soon for FA is Mookie Betts and no offense but if he doesn’t stay as hot as last season then he isn’t worth 45 million a season.