Chase Whitley will begin season on the DL due to staph infection

The injury bug keeps nibbling at the Braves although, for the time being, they have largely avoided severe injuries to their key players.

With Luiz Gohara on the mend after groin and ankle injuries and Johan Camargo likely to only miss a bit of time due to an oblique issue, the Braves look to be reasonably healthy going into 2018. Unfortunately for Chase Whitley, one of the newest Braves who was brought in to compete for a bullpen spot, that luck was not extended to him.

Staph infections are pretty scary and can be life-threatening if left untreated, so lucky for Whitley, it appears as though they caught the infection early. Chase’s infection was causing swelling and numbness in his ankle and foot in addition to causing his heart rate to fluctuate. However, now that the situation is known, he will undergo treatment. While it can be variable as to how long it will take to clear out the infection, the important thing here is that he is being treated for a what could have been a much more serious ailment.

Whitley was acquired by the Braves this past offseason off of waivers after appearing in 41 games for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017. The 28-year old righty posted a 4.08 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 16 walks in 57 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched.