<img alt="Philadelphia Phillies v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/E3JLQr9Eo9pXf-wxeAT9ihR5bXU=/0x0:6989x4659/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73590037/2160333346.0.jpg">
Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
Atlanta’s primary second baseman should be coming back to the lineup very soon. We just got a flurry of news concerning the immediate future for the Atlanta Braves. We’ll start with the big news of the day, which is that we are finally getting close to seeing the return of Ozzie Albies to the lineup. Mark Bowman of MLB.com reported that Brian Snitker has confirmed that Ozzie Albies will be starting a rehab assignment over the next two days.
Ozzie Albies could begin a rehab assignment tomorrow and join the Braves this weekend. Once he returns, it would make sense to move Merrifield to LF. Thought about 3B, but Urshela's glove provides too much value.— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) September 16, 2024
I’d say that it’ll be interesting to see them utilize Whit Merrifield in left field, especially considering that he’s still dealing with a broken foot. At the same time, I suppose they figure that if he’s still able to be out in the field in the first place with a broken foot then maybe having him out in left field might work out. It’ll also be interesting to see how this works out with Ozzie Albies hitting exclusively as a right-hander. This is all going to be a bit risky but at this point with the team’s Postseason lives hanging on a razor’s edge, the Braves are going to need all the offensive help they can get and Ozzie’s right-handed hitting should hopefully come in handy.
Meanwhile, we also have an answer as to how the Braves are going to handle trying to fill the void of Reynaldo López in the rotation until his (hopeful) next week. Atlanta had plenty of options but it appears that they’ve decided to keep things simple and go with Grant Holmes as their starter for Tuesday.
When I asked Snit last week if Holmes could start, it was clear this was a real possibility. Starting him saves the Braves from making a roster move, as he’s already on the roster and has performed well this season. https://t.co/ZqyHgL5hVH— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) September 16, 2024
This will be the fifth start that Holmes has made here in 2024 and this will be the first start he made since getting the ball to start the game on August 14 against the Giants. It’s been a mixed bag for Holmes so far when it comes to starting. He did go seven innings in that outing on August 14 and only gave up two runs in the process and he does have a five-inning stint against the Brewers back on July 20 where he only gave up one run. However, he gave up three runs over 4.2 innings against the Marlins and then he got tagged for five runs over five innings at Coors.
Hopefully that Coors start will end up being the outlier that it appears to be and we’ll see Grant Holmes make a solid start against the Reds on Tuesday night. He’ll have Spencer Schwellenbach and Chris Sale following him on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, so it could be huge if Holmes could pull off the trick of a great start on Tuesday.
<img alt="Philadelphia Phillies v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/E3JLQr9Eo9pXf-wxeAT9ihR5bXU=/0x0:6989x4659/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73590037/2160333346.0.jpg">
Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
Atlanta’s primary second baseman should be coming back to the lineup very soon. We just got a flurry of news concerning the immediate future for the Atlanta Braves. We’ll start with the big news of the day, which is that we are finally getting close to seeing the return of Ozzie Albies to the lineup. Mark Bowman of MLB.com reported that Brian Snitker has confirmed that Ozzie Albies will be starting a rehab assignment over the next two days.
Ozzie Albies could begin a rehab assignment tomorrow and join the Braves this weekend. Once he returns, it would make sense to move Merrifield to LF. Thought about 3B, but Urshela's glove provides too much value.— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) September 16, 2024
I’d say that it’ll be interesting to see them utilize Whit Merrifield in left field, especially considering that he’s still dealing with a broken foot. At the same time, I suppose they figure that if he’s still able to be out in the field in the first place with a broken foot then maybe having him out in left field might work out. It’ll also be interesting to see how this works out with Ozzie Albies hitting exclusively as a right-hander. This is all going to be a bit risky but at this point with the team’s Postseason lives hanging on a razor’s edge, the Braves are going to need all the offensive help they can get and Ozzie’s right-handed hitting should hopefully come in handy.
Meanwhile, we also have an answer as to how the Braves are going to handle trying to fill the void of Reynaldo López in the rotation until his (hopeful) next week. Atlanta had plenty of options but it appears that they’ve decided to keep things simple and go with Grant Holmes as their starter for Tuesday.
When I asked Snit last week if Holmes could start, it was clear this was a real possibility. Starting him saves the Braves from making a roster move, as he’s already on the roster and has performed well this season. https://t.co/ZqyHgL5hVH— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) September 16, 2024
This will be the fifth start that Holmes has made here in 2024 and this will be the first start he made since getting the ball to start the game on August 14 against the Giants. It’s been a mixed bag for Holmes so far when it comes to starting. He did go seven innings in that outing on August 14 and only gave up two runs in the process and he does have a five-inning stint against the Brewers back on July 20 where he only gave up one run. However, he gave up three runs over 4.2 innings against the Marlins and then he got tagged for five runs over five innings at Coors.
Hopefully that Coors start will end up being the outlier that it appears to be and we’ll see Grant Holmes make a solid start against the Reds on Tuesday night. He’ll have Spencer Schwellenbach and Chris Sale following him on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, so it could be huge if Holmes could pull off the trick of a great start on Tuesday.
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