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Braves fans will find out later today just how long they will be without star shortstop Andrelton Simmons. Andrelton hurt his thumb over the weekend in Philadelphia when attempting to make a diving stop in shallow left field.
Simmons will learn whether he needs to go on the DL after being further examined today http://t.co/bbR8sZp7vg
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) August 3, 2015
Initial X-rays after the injury were negative, so that was certainly a positive. The Braves are currently calling it a sprained thumb, but Simmons was still really sore the day after the game so he will undergo an MRI to see if there is any more damage than that. If its just a strain or sprain, he could just be out a few games. If the MRI finds ligament damage, he could be out much longer than that, which would be another big blow to the Braves who rely on Andrelton to essentially lock down his side of the field defensively.
Daniel Castro and Pedro Ciriaco will both probably see time at short in Simmons' absence, with Castro likely to receive the bulk of the time given his defensively proficiency at short.