Braves receive great news on Drake Baldwin despite losing Spencer Strider

The Atlanta Braves franchise experienced two different emotions on Monday: misery and elation. 

The misery began with the news that right-hander Spencer Strider would be shut down for at least a month after leaving his start on Friday with right elbow inflammation. The elation came when the Braves announced that catcher Drake Baldwin (strained right oblique muscle) had returned from his rehab assignment. 

To clear a space for Baldwin's return, the Braves outrighted catcher Austin Wynns to Triple-A Gwinnett. The 35-year-old was a suitable backup in his six games with the Braves. 

Drake Baldwin set to make return for Atlanta Braves

Before hitting the injured list, Baldwin was one of manager Walt Weiss' best hitters. The reigning National League Rookie of the Year is batting over .300 (.303, which is tied with team leader Michael Harris II) and is third in RBI (38) and third in home runs (13) on the team even with missing nearly a month. 

Next to Baldwin, Harris and first baseman Matt Olson (.270/.894) have been the Braves' top three hitters. 

Baldwin's return also couldn't come at a better time, as the Braves are without right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr., who has been out since the June 10 with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain and is expected to only miss the minimum amount of time (15 days), per MLB.com. 

The only issue facing Baldwin returning to the lineup is that he'll need to be ready to catch pretty much every game. The 25-year-old's catching mate, Sean Murphy (fractured left middle finger), is not likely to return until later in the second half, which means veteran Sandy Leon is the backup until he's back. 

Leon has not been great since signing from the Mexican Baseball League, hitting .095 with a .190 OPS and 18 strikeouts in 42 at-bats. Baldwin has not shown he can withstand the workload behind the dish, playing 97 games (85 starts) at catcher last season, while also playing 13 games (12 starts) as the designated hitter. 

Lacking depth at catcher and in the starting rotation, the Braves will likely be active on the trade market to acquire those two pieces.