Braves Top Shortstop Prospect To Begin Rehab Assignment

Alvarez has been on the injured list since the start of the regular season but has been out since the early Grapefruit League games during Spring Training. He exited a game with an apparent wrist injury Feb. 27 and hasn't seen action since.

A few days later, his wrist was reportedly feeling better and he was expected to return in the coming days. That didn't happen. At the start of the regular season, he began the season on the 10-day injured list for left wrist inflammation.

Alvarez is the Braves No. 3 prospect in the system. He made his Major League debut last season in a fill in role when Ozzie Albies went down with a wrist injury. His first stint in the Majors showed he wasn't ready yet. He went 3-for-30 with no extra-base hits, walks or RBIs. He scored once.

In Triple-A last season, he batted .297 with a .861 OPS, 10 home runs and 42 RBIs. No timetable is known yet, but we should expect him to spend a recent amount of time in the minors before he gets a crack at the big leagues again. He didn't have spring training, and while he's likely been getting work in, he's got to have some time participating in live action.

Should we see him back in the Majors at some point this season, he'd likely take Luke Williams' spot on the roster. The Braves need the shortstop depth and he could platoon with Nick Allen. Orlando Arica is already out the door due to declining performance this season. Eli White is a theoretical shortstop option because of his experience in the minors, but the Braves haven't actually tested that yet. He played one game at second base last season.

Having Alvarez back, just to have the option, would be great for the Braves. If he gets a handle on big league pitching quickly if and when he gets up here, that would ease the offfensive woes that have been dragging down the team.

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