Braves third baseman Austin Riley’s broken hand hasn’t recovered enough for him to return in time for the playoffs, if the team qualifies. A CT scan on Monday revealed that the injury hadn’t healed sufficiently.
“It’s just not healing enough to think he’ll be back this year,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker on Tuesday. Riley sustained the injury when he was hit by a 97 mph fastball from Angels pitcher Jack Kochanowicz on August 18. Initially expected to miss the rest of the regular season, there had been some hope that Riley could return if the Braves advanced far enough in the playoffs.
“He’s still in a cast, so it would have been difficult,” Snitker said. “We’d need to go deep into the playoffs. It’s not where the doctors want it to be.”
The Braves are 1 1/2 games behind Arizona for the third NL wild card spot heading into the final week of the season.
Riley, who had 19 home runs, 56 RBIs, and a .256 average in 110 games this year, was coming off a 37-homer, 97-RBI season. The two-time All-Star averaged 159 games over the previous three seasons.
Snitker added that Riley is expected to be fully recovered by spring training.
Meanwhile, third baseman Gio Urshela, signed by the Braves after being waived by the Tigers on the day Riley was injured, has batted .270 with three home runs in 30 games for Atlanta.
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