Atlanta Braves: Which Injuries Should We Be Worried About the Most?

The Atlanta Braves have reported several worrisome injuries so far in Spring Training, but not all of them should be taken seriously.

A lot of times, especially early in Spring Training, you’ll hear of teams taking a cautious approach when a player is experiencing soreness. That seems to be the case for most of these injuries for the Atlanta Braves.

Even Mike Mike Foltynewicz said that if we were in the regular season he would be on the mound. And I’m sure that’s the case for several of these players.

But there are some that worry me more than others.

Let’s first start by taking a look at the players who have reported injuries: Mike Soroka (shoulder); Kevin Gausman (shoulder), Luiz Gohara (shoulder), Foltynewicz (elbow), A.J. Minter (shoulder), and Dansby Swanson (wrist).

I could add Josh Donaldson to this list, but he really hasn’t had any setbacks, it sounds like they just don’t want to rush him.

The Gausman injury concerns me the least. As far as I know, he doesn’t have a history of shoulder problems, and he is a veteran at this point.

Even though Foltynewicz said he would pitch if this were the regular season, his injury concerns me a little. Mainly because he enters this season as the staff “ace” and we need him to make 30 starts.

Gohara’s injury is just sad because I want him to have a bounce-back year and show that he can be a factor for the Braves. He certainly didn’t need any setbacks after a disastrous 2018 season.

I hate to say it, but Minter getting injured could actually be a good thing if it forces the hand of the Atlanta Braves to sign Craig Kimbrel. But I don’t think his injury is a big deal.

Of those mentioned, the only two that really worry are Soroka and Dansby. And that’s because they are both dealing with reoccurring injuries.

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I was really counting on Soroka being healthy this season and taking the fourth spot in the rotation. The way he pitched when he was healthy with the Atlanta Braves last year gave everyone hope that he could be a top of the rotation pitcher.

If he has to get shut down again and wastes another year, that’s going to be devastating for Soroka and the Braves.

And just personally, I really want to see Dansby put it all together this year. I watched the shortstop a lot at Vanderbilt and I know he is a winner.

Even with all of his struggles at the plate, I feel confident when he is at bat with the game on the line — he is just that type of player.

But no matter what I think of him, if he has another season hitting in the .230s that could be the end of his run as the starting shortstop for the Atlanta Braves.

I hope all of these guys are just being cautious and will be ready for Opening Day. But some of these injuries do worry me going forward.