Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies will be placed on the injured list because of left hamstring soreness, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman. The decision comes after Albies did not play in the Braves' 11-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Monday night (box score), which marked the first time this season that he did not start or appear in a contest.
Albies, 26, initially suffered the injury Sunday against the New York Mets. He was removed in the late stages of that tilt. Nicky Lopez, a trade deadline acquisition by way of the Kansas City Royals, replaced Albies on Sunday and then filled in as Atlanta's starter at second base on Monday.
The Braves figure to bring up another infielder ahead of Tuesday's game. They have a few obvious options stored in Triple-A in the form of Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake. Both are already on the 40-player roster, too. Grissom, for his part, has performed particularly well as of late. Over the past four weeks, he's batted .357/.457/.571 with more walks than strikeouts in 106 plate appearances.
Albies had been in the midst of an excellent season. In 117 games, he has hit .267/.327/.514 (120 OPS+) with 28 home runs, 90 RBI, and 11 stolen bases (on 11 attempts). His contributions had been worth an estimated 3.9 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference. He recently appeared in his third career All-Star Game.
The Braves are well positioned to weather a short-term absence from Albies. They entered Monday with a 75-42 record that served as the best mark in the majors. Furthermore, their 11-game advantage over the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East was the only double-digit lead in the majors.
