Walt Weiss on JR Ritchie’s demotion, Drake Baldwin’s injury

This is where Atlanta Braves fans really can’t do anything but wait anxiously for the results. There are several different levels of oblique strains — some could sideline Baldwin for just a couple of weeks, while others can linger for multiple months.

It’s a very similar situation to what Ronald Acuña Jr. went through when he underwent further testing on his hamstring strain. The Braves avoided disaster in that situation, and now they’re hoping for the same outcome with Baldwin.

As for JR Ritchie, Walt Weiss made it clear his demotion to Triple-A Gwinnett was not performance-based. The Braves still believe strongly in his talent, and it sounds like he could rejoin the major-league club sooner rather than later.

The Braves defense didn’t do Ritchie any favors on Monday night, even if they somehow were not charged with an error. They very easily could have been given multiple errors, ones that directly led to three runs for the Marlins.

Despite that, Ritchie’s performances over his last few starts haven’t resembled what we saw in his MLB debut. He’s struggled to put hitters away, and more than anything, his control has been all over the place, something that wasn’t an issue for him as he climbed through the minor leagues.

Ritchie will undoubtedly get more opportunities with the Braves throughout the season, but with a logjam of starting pitchers currently on the roster, keeping him in Gwinnett to work through some things is far from the worst idea.