The Atlanta Braves need to do all they can to make a late season such as to usurp the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East standings. Brian Snitker and the rest of his squad are still very much behind by 8.5 games and it looks like those chances have just gotten worse after Ozzie Albies' injury against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Ozzie Albies immediately went to the X-ray scans after he went down in their 6-2 loss to the Cardinals. The news that came back was not that good. Brian Snitker's second baseman out of Curacao has suffered a left wrist fracture. He is now set to miss eight weeks of action with the Braves, per ESPN.

This is the second injury that Albies had to deal with in this year's Braves campaign. He missed 10 outings with the squad due to a toe injury back in April. Now, the earliest return after this injury against the Cardinals would be in September and there is still no guarantee that he would be back into competitive form after suffering quite a horrid fracture.

This means that the Braves could be looking for replacements in their infield rotation. A big prospect that Snitker could look into is Nacho Alvarez. Throughout 75 games in the Double-A and Triple-A, he has notched a line of .295/.398/.420. His raw talent also helped him notch 21 of his 24 basepaths undertaken in that same span of time. Matt Olson and Orlando Arcia are also options to replace Albies in the rotation. Amed Rosario and Brandon Durry have also been seen as possible acquisitions. This is such that the Braves get more time to wait for Albies' recovery.

While they still have the NL Wild Card spot for now, Snitker needs to scour for answers if they wish to be competitive near the end of the regular season. Who will get to replace the second baseman until then?

Braves' injury hits gets worse after Ozzie Albies injury

Jul 21, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies (1) is assisted off the field after being injured during a play against the St. Louis Cardinals during the ninth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
© Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Braves have seen the rise of guys like Jarred Kelenic, Chris Sale, and Reynaldo Lopez because of how tight their rotation has become. If fans needed a recap, Brian Snitker had already lost Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider to injuries. They are also not going to see these two in uniforms until at least early in the 2025 season. Michael Harris II immediately followed suit and Max Fried then came crashing down after.

It was Fried's injury that was the most bothersome because the Braves lost a great pitcher. He even outlined when the pain started to hit but remained optimistic when talking about his return, via Matt Snyder of CBS Sports.

“Normally they go away. Didn't feel like I was in any jeopardy of really hurting myself. Took the day off after the game to travel home. Came in, played catch, and still was feeling it. At that point, knew I probably should say something if I wasn't going to be able to make my start. Got tests done, and everything structurally looks great. Just irritated a sensory nerve, not one of the major muscle-functioning nerves. Just going to let it calm down and hopefully be back soon,” he declared.

This season is still salvageable with the amount of players stepping up for the Braves. Hopefully, they pull off a deep wild card run or even get on a hot streak despite the absence of their stars.