Freddie Freeman's wrist injury more serious than first thought

The Atlanta Braves may have to get by a bit longer without their most potent offensive weapon. Freddie Freeman has missed the last 23 games with a wrist injury and may not be ready to return until the first of August according to Braves' President John Hart. Hart told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Jeff Schultz that Freeman's injury was worse than was originally thought.

"It's more serious than we expected. I'm hoping he'll be back before the first of August but he may not be. He's working hard to get back but it's a slow-healing injury and it still gives him pain when he swings. He dinged it, played four or five days with it, and we have him a few days off. We gave him an injection and thought he would be back in two or three days but it was no better. We did further tests and found it was more serious than we thought."

Freeman suffered the wrist injury during an at bat against the New York Mets. He went on the disabled list on June 18. Despite his absence, his .299 average and 12 home runs lead the team. His 41 RBIs are second on the club behind Cameron Maybin's 44.

Atlanta entered the All-Star break on a five-game losing streak and with their offense struggling. At 42-47, they are seven games behind the Washington Nationals for first place in the NL East and six back in the Wild Card race. They open the second half on Friday with a three-game set at Turner Field against the Chicago Cubs.