Brian McCann left Tuesday’s game with what the Braves described as left knee soreness. The veteran catcher was set to undergo tests today, and manager Brian Snitker indicated to reporters (including Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that he didn’t yet know if McCann would need to be moved to the injured list. Alex Jackson is most obvious candidate to be called up from the minors to back up Tyler Flowers if McCann does require an IL stint, though Atlanta also picked up John Ryan Murphy in a trade deadline swap with the Diamondbacks. Calling up Murphy would require the Braves to make room on the 40-man roster, however. McCann has hit .264/.336/.423 with 10 homers over 274 plate appearances this season (while also posting some above-average framing numbers), giving the Braves some extra pop from the catcher position as Flowers has had a down year at the plate.
More injury news from around the NL…
- Kyle Freeland left Tuesday’s game in the sixth inning due to a strained groin, and the Rockies left-hander seems likely to spend some time on the injured list. Freeland told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post and other reporters that the injury feels similar to a strain that also put him on the IL back in 2017, though only for a minimal stint. The injury continues what has been a nightmare of a season for Freeland, as he has a 6.98 ERA and 22.9% home run rate over 99 1/3 innings, and also spent almost a month and a half at Triple-A in an attempt to get himself on track.
- Giants manager Bruce Bochy gave an unofficial projection of September 8 as Johnny Cueto’s potential return date to the majors, as Bochy told reporters (including the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman) on Tuesday. Cueto threw 60 pitches in a rehab outing for the Class-A San Jose Giants yesterday, and he’ll make the first of two rehab starts for Triple-A Sacramento on Monday. Assuming the tentative September 8 date stands, it will mark just over 13 months between Tommy John surgery and a Major League mound for Cueto.
- In other Giants injury news, right-hander Shaun Anderson has started his own Triple-A rehab assignment, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Anderson hit the IL on August 8 due to a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand, so he shouldn’t require too long of a ramp-up period before he is able to rejoin the Giants. Anderson has a 5.33 ERA, 1.77 K/BB rate, and a 6.0 K/9 over 82 2/3 innings in what has been a rather inconsistent rookie season for the 24-year-old.
Hope it isn’t serious, McCann has done a good job being 35 with worn legs is a tribute to his desire. Need him for the final run into post season. Flowers is no spring chicken either and Jackson isn’t much with a bat.
Braves can’t afford to lose more offense, the first 4 hitters are doing all the work for the most part.
Is it just me who read the first sentence as “he did a good job being 35”
Imagine if the Braves called up Contreras instead. #Mind#Blown
He’s still a couple years away. If they won’t call up Pache or Waters with three outfielders on the DL, there’s no way they’ll call up Contreras.
As much as I’d love for Contreras to succeed, the fact is that the kid has been inconsistent at best in AA this season. He may not be the “sure thing” that some once thought he was.
Hoping McCann recovers quickly and fully.
or Shea langelires (or however it’s spelled)
#Hashtag
Ugh hope it’s not serious…if we can keep our heads above water the next six weeks and get back McCan, Swanson, Riley, Markakis, Inciarte and so on…the Braves are gonna be deep and if the bullpen keeps settling down they can make a legit run!
Expecting AllofOurGods to come on and say the Braves should have traded 4 or 5 pitching prospects for Realmuto in 3..2..1..
Not really but the Braves don’t have good pitching prospects, they just have ‘pitching options’ in the minors. Realmuto would have been more useful to the team this year and next year than all the “prospects” that continue to disappoint in the minors.
Heading to 2020, they have once again no good options for the position.
not prospects? how much are you getting paid to say these things? the Braves have had how many serious pitching prospects in recent years and you’re telling me all prospect evaluators were wrong about them?
Yes because other than Soroka, the rest are still question marks.
AND yes, the evaluators are usually wrong and numbers prove it.
“oH bUt tHeY aRe sTiLl yOuNg!”
Kershaw was young once, So was Scherzer. And Verlander.
and so were Matt Wisler, Lucas Sims, Randall Delgado, Jo Jo Reyes. Anderson and Wright are not sure things. They are definitely not pitching as such.
Of course, you win some you lose some.
You have a chance to win, you take it. You don’t wait till a miracle happens with your prospects. Admittedly, sure 2019 may not be the ideal time to spend or trade. I’ll give you that. However, 2020 is and if we still see the same prospect ho-arding, then I don’t want to hear it anymore.
Also why is “ho-arding” a moderated word?
“Not really but the Braves don’t have good pitching prospects, they just have ‘pitching options’ in the minors.”
This is just an ignorant comment. Soroka, Anderson, Wright Wilson and maybe even Muller absolutely are good prospects.
You apparently don’t know a damn thing about the minors.
In other NL injury news, Chris Taylor and Kiké Hernandez returned to action yesterday, Ross Stripling will be starting a rehab assignment this week, and Rich Hill will soon start throwing off a mound, but Alex Verdugo is still recovering from his oblique injury, hasn’t resume baseball activities, and isn’t expected back until September 1 at the earliest.
We are already running a short or weak bench, why not go ahead and IL him?
Where’s that guy that insisted it took 15 to 18 months, or whatever it was, to return from TJS, and no way would Cueto pitch this season?