Braves OF Adam Duvall will miss the rest of the 2022 season after suffering a wrist injury on Saturday. Originally thought to be just a sprain, Duvall will undergo surgery to repair a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist
During the first inning of Saturday night’s 7-2 win vs the Angels, Adam Duvall was chasing down a Shohei Ohtani foul ball when he collided with the wall. Duvall came out for his at bat in the bottom of the inning and quickly grounded-out to second base on the first pitch.
Duvall did not return to left field to start the second inning and was replaced by Guillermo Heredia.
When asked, after the game, about the severity of the injury and if it would lead to season-ending surgery, Braves manager Brian Snitker seemed dismissive and answered with, “Well I don’t know that. I don’t know any of that, they’re going to do surgery this week at some point in time.”
Duvall has been struggling at the plate this year in comparison to the monster year he had in 2021. Through 86 games this season, he is hitting .213 with 12 homers and a .677 OPS. Those numbers seem miles away from the 38 home runs and .800 OPS he put up last season. While his numbers have definitely improved since the arrival of Michael Harris and a move from centerfield to left field, the hope was that Eddie Rosario would return and the Braves would have options in the outfield.
Now the question is who will take over the bulk of the work in left? Eddie Rosario missed most of the first half of the season while recovering from laser eye surgery and is hitting just .132 in 98 plate appearances since returning. Heredia is struggling as well, with a .127 average and both players have a sub .600 OPS.
So the question is clear – does Alex Anthopolous make a move for an outfielder before the August 2nd trade deadline? Let’s keep in mind that Adam Duvall, who turns 34 in September and is in his tenth season, is going to be a free agent after this season so there is the strong possibility that we’ve seen him in a Braves uniform for the last time.