The Atlanta Braves had quite the eventful day on Thursday and not in a great way. AJ Smith-Shawver landed on the 15-day injured list with an elbow injury that looks like it could keep him out for a while and Stuart Fairchild dislocated his pinky trying to steal a base.
Things are not going the way Atlanta hoped this season. The offense hasn’t been able to find their stride and pitching has been a bit shaky at times.
Fairchild’s injury isn’t catastrophic as he’s not an everyday player but it does potentially open up an opportunity for Jarred Kelenic to return to the roster. As of right now, Fairchild hasn’t been placed on the injured list so he could stay with the team.
Stuart Fairchild’s injury could lead to the Braves bringing back Jarred Kelenic
Kelenic hasn’t exactly been lighting it up for the Stripers with a .247 average over 97 at-bats. He has one triple, two homers, four doubles, 11 RBI, 16 walks, and 27 strikeouts. He isn’t much of an upgrade and becomes a tad redundant with Alex Verdugo on the roster.
However, Kelenic is on the 40-man roster and has options so it would make sense to bring him back up even if the merits aren’t quite there. The only other outfield option currently on the 40-man roster at Triple-A would be Carlos Rodriguez. He’s batting .293 on the season between Columbus and Gwinnett, including one homer, four doubles, 12 RBI, 16 walks, and 22 strikeouts.
The main issue here is neither player moves the needle for the Braves. They would simply be benchwarmers. Something else to consider is that Nick Allen exited Thursday night’s second game of the doubleheader after being hit in the hand with a pitch, so that could factor into the Braves’ decision-making as well.
Atlanta is not in the best of positions to have to solve depth issues with how thin the bench already is. Orlando Arcia is now with the Rockies and if Allen is injured for a prolonged period, that would leave the Braves with Luke Williams or Eli White as their primary shortstop.
Losing the way the Braves have is bad enough but injuries to multiple players in a single day is brutal. There’s enough for the team to overcome, it would be nice for them to catch a break.
