So, we ended up getting some interesting nuggets of news from the pregame press conference that Walt Weiss has before every home game. There’s one bit of concerning news, one bit of hopeful news and then something that seems obvious but it’s good to hear confirmed.
Let’s start with the concerning news, shall we:
Michael Harris II won’t start on Friday after all
There was a bit of an injury scare for Michael Harris II after he had to exit Thursday’s win over the Nationals during the seventh inning as a precautionary move. At first, it seemed like the “All
Clear” was here after Harris said that he “expected” to play on Friday and then he was listed in today’s lineup as well.
Unfortunately, they’ve scratched him from today’s lineup and are now listing him as being “day-to-day” with the left quad tightness. You don’t want to expect the worst but when you consider the injury luck that this team has had to deal with in recent years, I think we’re all hoping to the baseball gods above that Money Mike’s quad doesn’t act up on him any further.
Raisel Iglesias could be back ASAP
Now granted, this doesn’t mean that Iglesias’ IL stint is going to be shorter than 14 days but apparently Weiss and the Braves training staff are encouraged with how he’s feeling so far. Weiss did state that Iglesias hasn’t started throwing yet but they aren’t expecting this to be a lengthy IL stint. Again, just like Harris, we’re all hoping that this is strictly just a two-week rest period for Iglesias and that there aren’t any setbacks between now and his anticipated return from the IL. For now, things are looking up in that department and the bullpen won’t have to hold down the fort for any longer than expected during Iglesias’ absence.
JR Ritchie will stick around for a bit
Didier Fuentes received the call-up but went right back down after his short outing on Wednesday night. JR Ritchie was called up instead and ended up delivering a very creditable debut performance in helping the Braves pick up the series win. Clearly the Braves’ brass liked what they saw, since Weiss told the media that Ritchie will be sticking around with the big league ballclub and he now has an opportunity to pitch his way into staying in the rotation.
Obviously, it’d be a pretty huge development if Ritchie ended up being ready for The Show already. It would also bring up some questions about where he’d fit in with the rotation once guys like Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach make their eventual returns from injury. It’s a good problem to have though, as you can never have too much pitching and having a talented young arm like Ritchie’s around would certainly be a positive for the Braves going forward.
