Andrelton Simmons injures ankle; ‘hoping’ to avoid disabled list
By Brad Rowland
UPDATE: David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Simmons is using crutches as of Wednesday afternoon, with a “hope” to avoid the disabled list while returning in 3-4 days.
#Braves Simmons on crutches, Fredi G said they're hoping he'll avoid DL but it swelled after stopped icing it last night
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) August 6, 2014
#Braves Fredi G said they might play Bonifacio at shortstop this weekend. Hoping Simmons will be ready in 3-4 days, but too early to know.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) August 6, 2014
Obviously, this is an unfortunate turn of events, and it will be interesting to see how this progresses as the team navigates an off-day on Thursday followed by the weekend series against the Washington Nationals, where Simmons would seemingly be unavailable.
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In the midst of what was a miserable, 4-2 defeat on Tuesday evening, the Atlanta Braves lost more than just a win-loss decision. Star shortstop Andrelton Simmons was forced to exit the game in the fourth inning as a result of an ankle injury, and as such, there is some concern about his status for the immediate future.
Andrelton Simmons left the game with a left ankle sprain. He's listed as day to day and will be further evaluated tomorrow. #Braves
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) August 6, 2014
The 24-year-old Simmons was injured when he awkwardly covered second base during a massive Seattle rally, and he immediately exited the game in favor of Ramiro Pena. Fortunately, though, it appears as if it was potentially just a minor tweak, as Fredi Gonzalez had this to say (courtesy of Mark Bowman of MLB.com) about Simmons in the post-game:
"“He’s probably going to be a little sore tomorrow. Maybe the off-day on Thursday will give him plenty of time for this weekend.”"
While he hasn’t exactly been dominant offensively this season (.249/.297/.340 slash line with only 5 home runs), Simmons has managed to maintain his status as a big-time player thanks to his defense, and he has still produced 2.0 bWAR for the seaeson. Still, it has certainly been a mildly disappointing campaign for the recently-extended Simmons, and it would be encouraging to learn that this is a short-term, nagging injury.
Stay tuned.