The Braves will have to deal with another major injury, learning Wednesday that left fielder Marcell Ozuna will be sidelined for about six weeks with the hand injury he suffered the night before.
Ozuna returned from Boston to Atlanta for tests, which revealed fractures of the ring and middle fingers on his left hand, Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
“It’ll be around six weeks — that’s a significant time to be without a big player on your team,” Snitker said. No surgery will be required, he added.
Ozuna commented on the news in a post on his Instagram account, writing in Spanish: “Thanks to everyone who took a minute of their time to worry about me. I’m fine because God wanted it that way, thank God nothing more serious happened, now wait 6 weeks to recover. Thank you all.”
The Braves now are without two key hitters from last season’s team, both sidelined because of hand injuries. Catcher Travis d’Arnaud is expected to be out at least until late in the season after having surgery early this month on a torn ligament in his left thumb.
Ozuna exited Tuesday night’s game at Boston after injuring the fingers sliding into third base. The injury occurred in the third inning as Ozuna, who had reached base on an RBI double, was diving toward third base, attempting to advance on Ozzie Albies’ fielder’s choice groundout. The ring finger appeared to bend awkwardly as Ozuna’s left hand caught on Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers’ foot.
Ozuna is hitting .213 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs through 48 games this season. Last year, he led the National League in home runs (18) and RBIs (56) while hitting .338 in the shortened 60-game season.
For Wednesday night’s game at Boston, the Braves will start Guillermo Heredia in left field, with Ender Inciarte playing center field. Albies moves up to Ozuna’s No. 3 spot in the batting order, with Austin Riley hitting fourth.
