CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Braves utility man Micah Johnson seemingly avoided a significant injury when he rolled his left wrist while making a diving catch during Tuesday afternoon's 9-0 loss to the Phillies at Spectrum Field.
After creating a scare with his awkward landing, Johnson was relieved when X-rays did not reveal a fracture. The 26-year-old was listed as day to day with a sprained left wrist. But he will likely need more than a few days to recover from this ailment, and that will further decrease the already unlikely odds he was going to earn a spot on Atlanta's Opening Day roster.
"He's probably going to miss some time because when you're talking about swinging a bat and you're dealing with the wrist [it's tough]," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "But the way he tumbled, I'm just glad he didn't fracture anything."
An audible gasp could be heard throughout the stadium when Johnson raced toward the left-field line and dove head first to rob Pedro Florimon of a two-out base hit in the fifth inning. As the Braves left fielder landed, the fingers of his glove hit the ground, before his left hand bent back as he continued sliding across the turf.
Johnson rolled over a couple times before momentarily remaining on the ground. He then bounced up and ran toward the dugout before heading to the clubhouse for further examination.
"I'm just glad I caught the ball honestly," Johnson said as he spoke with his left hand and wrist wrapped. "I've never done that before, so I have nothing to base it on. We'll see how it goes and hopefully I can get back out there as soon as possible."
If the Braves don't make a trade to acquire an outfielder, Johnson and Emilio Bonifacio are the top candidates for the final bench spot. Bonifacio's experience had already provided him a slight edge over Johnson, a former White Sox second baseman who has played a total of 41 games as an outfielder at the professional level.