APRIL 26: Atlanta placed Rosario on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to yesterday, with what the team called “blurred vision and swelling in the right retina.” To take his place on the active roster, the Braves recalled right-hander William Woods to make his major league debut.
Selected onto the 40-man roster last offseason, the 23-year-old Woods has allowed six runs in 7 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in the early going. However, he’s punched out 14 of the 32 batters he’s faced while walking just a pair of opponents, and the Braves reasonably feel that kind of swing-and-miss ability will help him find better results from a run prevention perspective. (Eric Cole of Battery Power first reported Woods’ forthcoming promotion).
APRIL 25: The Braves announced today that outfielder Eddie Rosario will soon undergo a laser procedure on his right eye, due to some swelling and blurred vision. While the club didn’t provide a timeline, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that this could sideline Rosario for 8-12 weeks.
Acquired from the Indians in a deadline deal last year, Rosario got red hot as a member of the Braves and went onto cement himself in the team’s lore. After the trade, Rosario hit .271/.330/.573 for an excellent 133 wRC+. That tremendous hot streak helped propel the club into the postseason. Rosario was able to shine in the playoffs as well, as he went 14-for-25 in the NLCS, including three home runs, a double, a triple and nine runs driven in, earning series MVP honors. Rosario couldn’t carry that hot streak into the World Series, but the club triumphed nonetheless.
Rosario reached free agency but eventually re-signed with the Braves on a two-year, $18MM deal with a club option for 2024. He’s gotten off to a miserable start to the year, hitting just .068/.163/.091, though those struggles are surely attributable to the fact that Rosario has been struggling with his vision. Now that the issue has been diagnosed and will soon be treated, Rosario can hopefully get back on track. However, it will take some time, with Rosario seemingly unable to return until a few months from now.
For the Braves, it’s unfortunate that they will be losing a beloved member of the team for an extended stretch. Marcell Ozuna and Adam Duvall should be making up two-thirds of the outfield on most nights. With Rosario stepping aside, the options to join them include Alex Dickerson, Guillermo Heredia and Travis Demeritte. Whatever solution the team comes up with will just be temporary, as Ronald Acuna Jr. should be in the mix soon. The superstar has been out of action for almost a year at this point after tearing his ACL in July of 2021. However, he is currently on a rehab assignment and isn’t far from rejoining the big league club.
I knew something had to be wrong with Eddie. Terrible news for the Braves.
Ah….you know @dado, it’s probably worse news for Rosario. I have had severe vision loss, and the acute trauma that accompanies eye procedures are way worse than surgeries to the shoulder, elbow, hip, broken bones etc. I know, as I’ve had those too. Getting “work” done to your eyes is truly one of the worst. My thoughts and prayers for Eddie Rosario. The Braves will be fine.
If he merely needs a LASIK correction and it’s nothing more serious, he may come back better than ever. I hope it’s nothing worse than that.
I just don’t “see” it.
too soon man… too soon.
@inkstain, they just updated the article. They said the problem is with his retina, which is what I had problems with. Retina work can be very troublesome. Prayers for a full recovery for Eddie!!
This is not a standard LASIK procedure. He’d be back within days if it was. They’re talking months. We can’t rule out this won’t be career altering as they’ve provided no information on the cause.
The cause is that Ed was reportedly squinting too hard to see the Braves’ playoff chances.
Is there something wrong with Swanson too ?
In more important news, the Mets are near the top of the league in all stats, Scherzer threw another 7 shutout innings last night, and Lindor and the bats are showing last season was an aberration.
Braves fans had better hope Acuna’s leg doesn’t snap in half while he’s stealing bases in meaningless minor league games!
No worries, the Mets will be the Mets and finish in 4th once it’s all said and done
LOL…yes, guy going full throttle to show naysayers like yourself and the small contingent Braves “fans” that say he’s not trying hard enough is too much.
Scherzer looking great early on only to miss the playoffs due to a sore shoulder would never happen (again). My Magic 8 ball is broken.
Wow that’s tough. Certainly wouldn’t be the first Braves player to overcome vision issues though.
Or not. Uggla, Dan.
Makes sense with how he’s struggled so far, that’s his lead eye with hitting lefty of course, but eye surgery just gives me bad tingles.
Oh boy. Does this open the door for an Upton reunion?
Mets fans hope so.
The Braves need CF and LH options. Justin Upton is more a RH DH at this point.
@Garry As far as the bat- Isn’t that Acuna? While he bats right, he has mashed RHPs in his career.
I’m sure the Braves would rather just trade for someone.
Here comes Cedric Mullins 2.0 Michael Harris II needs to get the called up
No sense in rushing him. Let Travis Demeritte play. He’s been doing well, now he has some time. Puts in much better AB than Rosario of late. Harris has not been hitting southpaws well, so he still needs to work on some things.
That does explain sone of his issues
It’s weird how only Braves players need LASIK over the years.
Nothing weird about it
The Braves are officially now without Rosario and Soler (the two reasons they won the CS/WS). The 2022 Braves are no different now to the 2021 first half Braves – meaning they are bad. Long season ahead while the Mets once again getting another gift win to preserve the reward as the luckiest team in baseball and precursor to their April WS rings they will soon get in the mail.
You forgot Freeman
I love Olson and already don’t miss Freeman. But yes, he is the reason the Braves beat the Brewers.
Yes Olson is making up for Freeman on the field. But you can see it in the teams actions and play. They miss him badly with his clubhouse leadership.
They couldn’t get over .500 with Freeman until the second half. The team on paper looks good but on the field, they are not. Rotation is not consistent – including Fried. Wright has been terrific but we need to see how he fares for the entire season. Anderson is just a disappointment – nothing else needs to be said. Whatever they bring up from the minors is not good. The Braves outfield is terrible and there is no reason to believe that will change (outside of Acuna). Again as I said before, people want to talk about how good the offense can be, but they only won last year because they got overproduction from outside sources that are now both gone. Not sure if the core is good enough to win.
Personally, I’d just call the Indians and just get it done for you know who. It is early but the Braves need to get something done before they sink down further. What happened last year was last year. They can’t expect the same outcome this year.
The Guardians
Who would they be getting from CLE? Ramirez just signed an extension, so he’s off the block. Now if you’re interested in Yu Chang or Bobby Bradley, they’re all ears.
Yeah, their outfield won’t get better, oh besides adding only one of the best, most dynamic outfielders in all of major league baseball…Let’s just discount that..lol
Not to mention, the pitchers are basically in extended spring training right now, I’m completely comfortable that Morton, Fried, and Anderson will all each get it together, and then they’ll have Wright to male one of the better top fours in all of the NL…
Not to mention this year they also have Ozuna over the AAAA guys they were using last season, and they have Duvall over Pache, who was terrible last season as well..Plus, they’ll also have a much better situation at catcher with d’Arnaud, Pina, and Contreras in AAA waiting in the wings..
Last note, you cannot just immediately discount any contributions they might get from Muller, Tucker, Ynoa, etc. Just because it fits your narrative doesn’t make it true, they’ve all shown glimpses of being able to be successful ML starters in the past, and even if it is only for random spot starts, there is no reason to.think they couldn’t do it again with more seasoning and polishing at AAA…
As much as my outlook is glass half empty, yours is glass half full just for the sake of being positive. There is no reason to believe the arms will amount to anything. Ynoa is as terrible as the others you probably kept saying need time to develop (Newcomb, Faulty). Here is my million-dollar scouting report on Ynoa…Ready?
Don’t swing. He will either throw you a fastball for a strike or miss completely or a slider he basically never throws for a strike. There is a reason why his second half was bad…teams caught on.
Davidson has been given chances and he continues to show he is not ready (or capable). Muller is the guy I’m highest on but this team needs more than another rookie to have a miracle season for them. This is where Bieber comes in (in my dreams of course).
As for the outfield, nobody will ever convince me Duvall is a good hitter…nobody. His inflated numbers from last season should be a forgotten thing of the past.
With that all being said, my point is this team right now is playing exactly the same way they started last season. This is not some coincidence. This is who they are….until they bring help from elsewhere.
@richardc Agree with you 100%. And don’t forget about B Elder
We wish Eddie a speedy recovery! Improved vision will help him later this season when he’s looking up at the Marlins in the standings!
Outfield is definitely weak & defensively challenged to say the least. This means we get to see a LOT more of Ozuna in the outfield. Hope Eddie gets fixed up & comes back better later. Would say this is a big loss but he’s been an auto out this year. This team doesn’t have a winning energy about them so far… Kyle Wright has been a nice surprise though.
Maybe he’ll have better plate discipline when he comes back.
*NLCS MVP
Room for Harris on the 40-Man now
Explains how he went from hitting everything in the postseason to not being able to hit anything this season
If you saw him in CLE the first half of last year you’d understand why they practically gave him to ATL. I couldn’t believe this was the same guy.
I’m glad it’s going to be the right eye and not the wrong eye.
Travis Demeritte SZN!!!
Seriously, this is Demeritte’s chance to show he belongs on the 26-man. Until RAJ returns, he’s their best defender other than Duvall or Heredia, and he has some pop and plate discipline. This could be a blessing in disguise, and keep Ozuna in the DH spot.
Amen! Guy keeps hitting and coming off a AAA season where he did nothing but that (.995 OPS in 46 AB in 2022 AAA; .958 OPS in 2021). He’ll provide decent COF defense and a steady bat at lower-third that’s been reliant on Alex Dickerson and forcing Ozuna into the field. What more does Demeritte have to do besides calling in Jeff Gilooly?
Squirrel Nut Zippers?
Maybe the Braves should see if Morton, Swanson, Anderson, Duvall, Dickerson, and McHugh need Lasik surgery too.
Oof- Dickerson. When was the last time he WASN’T in a slump.
Dickerson has actually been hitting the ball really hard, with a very high exit velo…Unfortunately, it also hasn’t lead to any results though either…lol
He needs to buy Albies dinner and talk about proper launch angles. Not sure barreling up a ball is going to mean nearly as much in the new deadball era.
1. 2021 is more recent than 1986.
2. 1995 is more recent than 1986.
Hopefully the surgery will correct the issue. No specifics on what exactly is causing the blurred vision. My first thought was Kirby Puckett waking up with blurred vision and his career was over.
Didn’t see this until I scanned through the comments. I thought maybe someone might have the answer in the comments. Strangely, everyone assumes he’ll be fine. Not sure why.
Prob why he cant hit off a tee
Good luck on the surgery, Eddie. Speedy recovery.
I respect the Spiders organization, but do they ever trade anyone that doesn’t wind up with a medical issue? Actually, maybe that is why I like them.
Braves finding out if tough to repeat. There’s a reason it hasn’t happened in 20 years. And it looks like they can’t coast on a an easy division this year… the Mets look legit.
Just one look at the record of teams the year after their WS and you’ll realize the Braves are going nowhere this year.
@You Can Put It In The Books
The Braves probably won’t repeat as World Champions but I still think they’ll reach the postseason as either the NL East winner or one of the three Wild Cards.
Don’t think it was sudden – had to be obvious to himself, not seeing the ball well. Progressively getting worse? In denial? What could he be thinking, it’s going to get better on its own? Being competitive is great but when it’s hurting the team it’s selfishness.
What I don’t get is that this wasn’t an issue last season/playoffs? An eye test wasn’t a part of the medicals prior to the new contract signing? Chris Sabo wasn’t called in for a consolation on eyewear trends in MLB before opting to go under the laser?
Fear may have played a roll. Most people don’t want to have surgery unless absolutely necessary.
I see people referring to Lasik surgery, but this is obviously more serious than a mere corrective procedure. Routine Lasik surgery takes less than a week to come back from. Maddox had both eyes done just before ST and didn’t tell the team. I wish Eddie the best.
So the Braves called up a guy that will allow a couple of runs an inning, but will strike out the ones that don’t score. Sounds like a winning plan to me. smh
Should have resigned SOLER & JOC when they had a chance Demerritte & DICKERSON are stiffs!
Joc wanted to be on the west coast & Soler is a right handed batter that’s a defensive liability.
Soler isn’t exactly setting the world on fire right now either. Would be nice to have him at DH but he got what he wanted in Miami for the time being. Also has opt outs in every year of his contract.
It’s unfortunate how it all played out but it was the right move when you factor in the RH heavy lineup & having Ozuna under contract made Soler @ DH less likely.
“blurred vision and swelling in the right retina.”
Ok. Why the lack of additional information or follow-up from the reporter regarding Rosario? Can’t even gauge the severity. What’s the cause? What’s the prognosis? What’s the success rate for this type of surgery? It seems the reporter didn’t even ask. If he did ask, then what was the response?
Forget baseball, hope Eddie doesn’t have lingering issues with his sight or even worse lose it.
The Braves are losing sight of their chances to repeat.
Trouble with one’s eyes and vision is no joke. I wish him the best in care and recovery. Scary stuff when your sight is in jeopardy. Prayers.
Some people talking about Rosario and why he couldn’t hit when it’s his leading eye as a left handed hitter. He’s a spray hitter, and if you look at his batted balls nearly all his outs were pull hits. No wonder he dropped a fly ball against San Diego, he was probably seeing multiple balls. Imagine trying to hit any pitch at any speed with vision problems. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious.