Atlanta Braves Top Prospect Dansby Swanson Returns…Kinda

Braves Shortstop Is Almost Back, But Was His Issue His Back?

Atlanta Braves top prospect, Dansby Swanson, hasn’t played since March 4th because he’s been dealing with an injury.  The injury we were all told was “back tightness”.  This morning we learned it was something other than just that.

The 23-year-old has missed practices/games for two weeks now and was scheduled to play on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.  When the Braves put out their lineup this morning, he wasn’t on the list.  Sounds as though the Braves will continue to take it slow with Swanson and allow him to get a few at-bats in a minor league game before jumping right into

It sounds as though the Braves will continue to take it slow with Swanson and allow him to get a few at-bats in a minor league game before jumping right into the Tigers pitching staff…even though it is Mike Pelfrey pitching.

Braves #7 will get at-bats on the back field today and then we’ll see where we go from there.  The Braves are playing at the ESPN facility both Sunday and Monday so it’s likely he’ll play in at least one of those games.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said on Saturday morning that if all goes well in the minor league game, Swanson will be back with the squad on Sunday.

Swanson’s Back Playing, But Was It His Back That Was Injured?

Earlier in the week, Snitker told the media that Swanson’s injury was more of a strain on his right side.  I didn’t think too much of that when I first read it because all the reports were just about his back having “tightness”.

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Swanson confirmed Snitker’s words this morning (Saturday) that was in fact a side strain that’s been keeping him away from the field.  He said the injury happened after making a few off-balance throws from short.

Side injuries suck and they take a while to heal most of the time.  Obviously, the Braves are going to be smart with this and not push anything…it’s still Spring Training.

We’ve seen instances like these in the past with the Braves and their players during Spring Training.  Andrelton Simmons and Freddie Freeman have had minor injuries, but wanted to get back on the field as soon as they could.  Braves were smart about it then in holding them out extra days and hopefully they’ll be cautious about Swanson.

Swanson’s return is one we’re all looking forward to, but it will come soon enough.  For now, enjoy some videos of him taking BP this morning.