Braves lose another critical piece to injury

The Braves can’t catch a break. Despite the season being quite young, the club has lost several significant pieces already.

It began during the year’s opening series when Sean Murphy went down with an oblique injury against the Phillies. The All-Star catcher will miss considerable time, but the Braves are built to withstand his absence thanks to the presence of Travis d’Arnaud.

Murphy has begun the process to return to the field, walking and using the Stairmaster, but the backstop is still weeks, if not months away from suiting up again.

The second player of the team to go down isn’t as easily replaceable, though. Spencer Strider underwent a procedure to repair his UCL and will be out for the remainder of the season. Alex Anthopoulos came into the offseason with a goal of bolstering the rotation, and now, that depth will be put to the test.

The hits keep coming, though. Ozzie Albies, who was hit by a pitch yesterday against the Astros, will take a trip to the Injured List with a right toe fracture, per the team’s official Twitter.