Duvall set for season-ending left wrist surgery

July 25th, 2022

ATLANTA -- The Braves might be in the market for an outfielder after learning on Sunday that Adam Duvall will miss the rest of the season with a left wrist injury.

Duvall will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. The veteran outfielder sustained the injury when he jammed his left wrist against the wall while pursuing a foul ball hit by Shohei Ohtani in the first inning of Saturday night’s game against the Angels.

"It's tough because of the person he is," manager Brian Snitker said prior to Monday's 6-4 loss in Philadelphia. "They don't make them better than Adam Duvall. No greater teammate."

With Duvall sidelined, the Braves can continue to use Eddie Rosario and Guillermo Heredia as their left fielders, though it was Marcell Ozuna starting in left on Monday night against left-hander Ranger Suárez. With a southpaw on the mound, Snitker wanted to get both Ozuna and William Contreras in the lineup, so he penciled Ozuna into left field and plugged in Contreras as the designated hitter.

Rosario is expected to be in left on Tuesday, but he has hit just .191 with a .524 OPS in the 49 plate appearances he's totaled since missing most of the season’s first half while recovering from laser eye surgery.

"If he gets it going, who knows?" Snitker said. "Maybe we just try running him out there all the time. But right now, he's not there yet. We'll do it with what we have here. Just make the best of it."

Duvall hit just .213 with 12 homers and a .677 OPS over 86 games this year. The outfielder never found the groove that helped him hit 38 homers and construct a .772 OPS for the Braves and Marlins in 2021.

"He's played a big part in our success here anytime he's been here," Snitker said. "So it's a tough loss. It's a big loss."

Of course, the Braves are no strangers to overcoming tough injuries. Just last season, following Ronald Acuña Jr.'s season-ending injury on July 10 in Miami, multiple players -- including Duvall, who was acquired just three weeks later -- rallied to help the club win its first World Series title since 1995.

It remains to be seen whether Atlanta will once again seek external reinforcements ahead of the Aug. 2 Trade Deadline, but Snitker is confident the Braves can still put together a formidable lineup either way.

"We're still a really good team regardless. ... It's just one of those things you have to navigate," Snitker said. "Everybody goes through it. No team is unscathed in that. Just something you have to deal with."