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One of the scarier things for Braves fans as their beloved team heads into the 2017 season is that something may happen to one of the franchise’s prized prospects, Ozhaino Albies included. (Another scary thing: a 2017 team that features AJ Pierzynski and Jeff Francoeur.)
As reported by MLB.com’s Mark Bowman:
Albies appeared to be in agonizing pain as he hopped out of the batter’s box, grabbing his right arm as he slumped over...
While you never want to see anyone hurt, there may have been a bullet dodged as the early reports suggest no ligament damage occurred despite the unfortunate injury:
Early indication is Ozzie Albies suffered a right elbow injury that did not damage the ligament. He's being evaluated by Dr. Andrews today.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) September 8, 2016
So, Albies is heading to the (in)famous Dr. James Andrews today, and hopefully he’ll get some more good news.
Albies, of course, recently won the Southern League batting title (albeit on a pseudo-technicality). He hit .321/.391/.467 at AA-Mississippi (148 wRC+, .376 BABIP) and .248/.307/.351 during a stint with AAA-Gwinnett (89 wRC+, .290 BABIP). He was slated to go to the Arizona Fall League in a few weeks, but it looks like rest and rehab are likely in his future instead.
While there aren’t any additional details to go off of, an elbow fracture may have a sufficiently short recovery timetable to have Albies ready for Spring Training next year. Otherwise, the Braves’ chances of having an awesome 2017 season grow considerably dimmer with the prospect of Albies missing additional time with his injury.