The Braves have been without closer Raisel Iglesias in the early going. The veteran reliever was sidelined during the final week of March with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. The club announced he’d be shut down for at least a week and he opened the season on the 15-day injured list.
It appears that stint will linger beyond the minimal two weeks. Manager Brian Snitker informed reporters on Monday that Iglesias has yet to resume throwing (link via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal Constitution).
The Braves have continued to evaluate the righty’s progress, though Snitker noted they won’t have any kind of recovery timetable in place until Iglesias is able to pick up a ball.
A.J. Minter and Jesse Chavez have each picked up a save this season. The latter’s was a one-out appearance during Wednesday’s 5-2 win over the Cardinals after Collin McHugh had thrown 27 pitches.
The highest-leverage work in the season’s first week has fallen to Dylan Lee, McHugh and Chavez. Minter and righty Joe Jiménez also figure to be in the mix for important work as the year goes along. They’ll all be up a peg in the pecking order so long as Iglesias is on the shelf.
Injuries have also been a story on the rotation front. Atlanta placed Ian Anderson on the minor league injured list this morning. Toscano tweets that Anderson has a right elbow injury and is being evaluated.
There’s no word on the issue’s severity, though any problem with a pitcher’s throwing elbow raises some amount of concern. Anderson will miss at least the next week of action at Triple-A Gwinnett. It’s possible he’s sidelined beyond the minimal stay, which would further thin an Atlanta rotation that has faced some questions early in the season.
The Braves were already set to rely on a pair of pitchers who had never previously pitched in the majors as part of the season-opening rotation. Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd jumped Anderson and Bryce Elder on the depth chart in spring training. Ace Max Fried landed on the 15-day IL after straining his hamstring on Opening Day. The Braves recalled Elder, pushing Anderson into the No. 6 role on the depth chart before the elbow soreness.
Fortunately, Atlanta should soon welcome back Kyle Wright from an IL stint of his own. The righty was slowed in camp by a sore shoulder. He opened the season on the 15-day IL to buy him a bit more time to build strength. He made a rehab start for Gwinnett this evening. The bottom line results weren’t great — he allowed five runs in a 6-3 loss — but Wright worked six innings and tossed 84 pitches.
That indicates he’s mostly stretched out and figures to make his next start at the MLB level. He’s first eligible to return on April 11, which would be a home start against Cincinnati.
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