The Braves offense provided some much-needed hope over the weekend, thanks in large part to the performances from the middle of the order in Marcell Ozuna, Austin Riley, and Matt Olson. Those three by themselves are enough to carry a team when they are hot, but things didn’t get any easier moving forward, as Michael Harris II became the latest player to hit the IL.
It’s just a hamstring strain for Harris, so hopefully, he won’t be sidelined for more than a couple of weeks. However, hamstrings are one of the trickiest injuries to recover from, and the Braves won’t be taking any chances. They’ll wait until he’s 110% right before even thinking about activating him, so they’ll need some new faces to step up in the meantime.
There are a couple of different ways the Braves could choose to approach things. As has been the case since Ronald Acuña Jr. went down for the season, Adam Duvall and Jarred Kelenic will be playing everyday; where they play, however, remains to be seen.
Both have experience in centerfield, which could set the stage for Ramón Laureano to make his Braves debut. The veteran was picked up as insurance a few weeks ago, and sure enough, he could end up playing a pivotal role until Michael Harris returns to the lineup.
