Austin Riley’s broken right hand means he will not return for the playoffs, even if the Atlanta Braves manage to qualify.
A recent CT scan indicated that the injury to the powerful third baseman has not healed adequately.
“It just wasn’t healing enough to think that he could come back this year,” Braves manager Brian Snitker stated on Tuesday.
Riley sustained the injury when he was struck by a 97 mph fastball from Jack Kochanowicz of the Los Angeles Angels on August 18. Initially expected to miss the remainder of the regular season, there was some optimism that if the Braves advanced far into the playoffs, he might be able to return.
“He’s still in a cast, so realistically, it was going to be pretty tough for him,” Snitker added. “We’d have to go pretty deep in the playoffs. It is not where the doctors wanted it to be.”
As the Braves entered the final week of the season, they trailed the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third NL wild card spot by 1.5 games.
[Related: Who will claim the final wild-card spots?]
In 110 games this season, Riley recorded 19 home runs, 56 RBIs, and a batting average of .256, following a standout previous season where he hit 37 home runs and drove in 97 runs. The two-time All-Star averaged 159 games over the last three seasons.
Snitker mentioned that Riley is expected to be fully recovered in time for spring training.
In the meantime, third baseman Gio Urshela, who was waived by the Detroit Tigers on the same day Riley was injured, has stepped in for the Braves. He has made a solid impact, hitting .270 with three home runs in 30 games for Atlanta.
