The Braves had quite the scare with their newest addition.
Whit Merrifield sustained a hand injury while taking grounders before his first game with the team on Monday at Truist Park.
The Braves signed Merrifield to a major league contract in the morning, following the news that star second baseman Ozzie Albies would miss eight weeks with a broken wrist.
“Can’t make it up,” Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters before the game.
However, X-rays on Merrifield came back negative, showing no fracture, according to The Athletic.
The Braves can breathe a sigh of relief as this would have been quite the turn of events.
Merrifield, cut loose by the Phillies on July 12, was stepping in for Albies as Atlanta kicked off a three-game series with the Reds.
“It’s good to add a veteran guy like that,” Snitker said. “He plays second. He runs. He can play outfield, third. I think it’s a good option just for the versatility of it”
Acting quickly, the franchise signed the utilityman in response to Albies’ injury, which occurred during their 6-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Ahead of the injury, three-time All-Star Albies had eight homers, 46 RBIs and a .258 batting average with a .310 on-base percentage across 90 games.
The Phillies had signed Merrifield to a one-year, $8 million contract during the offseason.
But across 53 games with the NL East leaders, the former Royal and Blue Jay hit just .199 with a 63 OPS-plus, netting -0.3 wins above replacement.
He had three homers and 11 RBIs on the season.
Despite the setbacks, the Braves (54-44) entered their series against the Reds in possession of the National League’s top wild-card team.
While it will be difficult to catch the Phillies (63-36) for the division title, trailing by 8 1/2 games entering play Monday, especially with Albies out for an extended stretch, it’s safe to say the Braves wasted little time adding reinforcement to try to do so.