Maybin sidelined due to cornea abrasion

WASHINGTON -- Cameron Maybin gained some relief on Saturday night when he learned why he has been recently experiencing blurred vision out of his left eye. But like Hector Olivera, Maybin was not in the Braves' lineup for Sunday afternoon's series finale against the Nationals at Nationals Park.

Olivera was scratched after batting practice because of the lingering discomfort he was feeling after fouling a pitch off the top of his left foot during Saturday night's 8-2 loss to the Nationals. Maybin's absence was expected as he will likely spend the next few days sidelined by a left cornea abrasion.

"It's just a bummer when you want to be in there and your body feels good and you have something like this happen," Maybin said.

As Maybin spent a portion of this week dealing with the blurred vision, he attempted to turn his head a little more during at-bats in an attempt to see pitches a little clearer with his right eye. But he did not have any defense when he never saw Ian Desmond's routine pop fly that dropped in center field for a double that began the four-run third inning the Nationals produced on Saturday night.

Maybin exited the game in the fourth inning and was later evaluated by a doctor, who diagnosed the abrasion and informed the center fielder that he would need to stop wearing his contact lenses for a few days.

"I've got to take a break from wearing the contacts for a few days to give my eye a chance to rest," Maybin said. "It's good to know what it was. Because going into like the fourth day, it didn't quite go away and I was getting nervous."

Though Olivera might miss just one day with his minor ailment, this setback simply added to the frustration that has developed since the Braves acquired him from the Dodgers in a July 30 trade that sent Jose Peraza and Alex Wood to Los Angeles.

Video: MIA@ATL: Olivera hits two-run single for first ML hit

Olivera produced a .593 OPS while compiling 42 plate appearances during his recent rehab stint with Triple-A Gwinnett. Since making his Major League debut on Tuesday, the 30-year-old Cuban third baseman has recorded two hits in 15 at-bats.

As Olivera has struggled over the past few weeks, some members of the Braves organization have said that they believe he will improve once he gets in better shape. Olivera was sidelined for nearly a month by a hamstring ailment that he suffered on June 20 and aggravated on July 13. But he has been consistently playing in games since Aug. 13.