After additional testing, the Braves receive terrible news regarding Austin Riley.

Austin Riley, a third baseman with the Atlanta Braves, may miss the remainder of the regular season.
Austin Riley, a third baseman for the Atlanta Braves, will miss six to eight weeks due to a right-hand fracture, the team said on Monday.

In the first inning of Sunday’s series finale against the Los Angeles Angels, Riley was hit by a pitch.

Riley was retested after returning to Atlanta because the results of the initial tests were unclear on Sunday. The fracture was verified by those findings.
Another victim of the Braves injury bug, yet again.

This season, Riley has batted in 110 games.256 with 19 home runs, 56 RBI, and a.783 OPS. Riley’s chances of playing in the 2024 regular season are currently very slim, with roughly six weeks remaining in the season.

Should he take only six weeks to recover, Riley might be able to return for the start of the postseason. However, it’s more likely he will be back toward the end of the division series, which is scheduled to be held between Oct. 5 and Oct. 12. That’s assuming the series goes the full five games.

October 13–22 is when the National League Championship Series takes place. Riley might not be able to return to the field this season unless the Braves are two of the last teams in the NL.

The last thing the Braves lineup needed was Riley to be out. With second baseman Ozzie Albies already on the injured list due to a similar injury, another important infield bat is no longer in the lineup.

Riley’s injury occurs shortly after Reynaldo Lopez’s stated comeback and the return of outfielder Michael Harris II.

To move forward, the Braves will need to see what infield options they can either grab from their minor league system or the waiver wire. The waiver deadline is Aug. 31, so there are a couple weeks to pursue those options.

Luke Williams replaced Riley after his hit-by-pitch on Sunday. But Williams is a career .218 hitter across four MLB seasons.

An in-house option the Braves could consider is prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. He received a taste of the MLB following Albies’ injury and struggled in his short stint.