Rocio Robles
The Atlanta Braves are not having their best start of the season in the Major Leagues and will also have to deal with the absence of outfielder Eddie Rosario due to an operation he will undergo later this week.
According to what the team announced through its social networks, the Puerto Rican player saw a retina specialist on Monday and will undergo a laser procedure in the coming days to correct the blurred vision and swelling in his right eye.
Although the Braves stated that more information on Eddie Rosario’s recovery time will be released in the coming days, journalist Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution speculated that he could be out for eight to twelve weeks, which is the standard recovery time for this type of clinical procedure.
Eddie Rosario had had a slow start to the season in the batter’s box in addition to several problems catching the ball in the outfield, so this problem in his vision could provide much clearer answers as to why he was underperforming.
In 44 at-bats, the keeper had only three hits, one of them a double, to average .068. In 15 games he struck out 10 times, received five tickets and his OBP was just .163.
Numbers well below Eddie Rosario’s average surely led the Braves to conduct some tests to find answers to the feeble performance of the player who signed, prior to this season, a contract with the organization for two seasons and $18 million dollars.
Rosario came to Atlanta last season in a trade that sent Pablo Sandoval to the Cleveland Indians. He played 33 games with the Braves, but his greatest contribution came in the postseason, when in 16 games he posted an impressive offensive line of .383/.456/.617 with three home runs, 11 RBIs and was recognized as the Most Valuable Player of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bustle in the gardens after the absence of Eddie Rosario
The unforeseen absence of Eddie Rosario due to the surgery he is scheduled to undergo, in addition to the Atlanta Braves’ slow 7-10 start in what promises to be a hard-fought National League East Division, could prompt the reigning Major League champions to rush Ronald Acuña Jr. back.
The Venezuelan outfielder is scheduled to play seven innings on Wednesday in Triple-A and nine innings on Thursday, with a tentative return date to the big team of May 6. However, due to the team’s offensive problems and the absence of the Puerto Rican, this date could be moved up the schedule.
For the time being, the Braves’ outfield will be severely compromised by having to deploy Marcell Ozuna every day in left field, a potentially dangerous situation given the Dominican’s lack of defensive prowess. In center field they will have Adam Duvall, while in right field they will have Guillermo Heredia. Travis Demeritte will be the fourth outfielder and Venezuelan Orlando Arcia will be the emergency infielder for the outfield.
