The Atlanta Braves placed catcher Manny Pina on the 10-day IL Thursday leading a reunion of the Contreras in their matchup against the Cubs.
It’s been a frustrating start to the season for Atlanta Braves back-up catcher Manny Pina, who now finds himself on the IL.
He began the season with a sore wrist and it is continuing to bother him, which led to this most recent IL stint.
The #Braves today recalled C William Contreras to Atlanta and placed C Manny Piña on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 25, with left wrist inflammation.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 28, 2022
The 34-year-old is just 2-14 on the season having played in just five games, and he got robbed of a home run in San Diego, adding to the early season frustration.
Hopefully it’s nothing serious for Manny and he can just relax for a week or two and be back and fully healthy.
Braves News — William Contreras Returns in Time to Face His Brother
The unfortunate news for Manny Pina leads to a pretty cool moment for William and Willson Contreras. The two brothers will exchange lineups in Thursday’s series finale against between the Braves and Chicago Cubs.
Manny Piña on 10-day IL for left wrist inflammation and William Contreras activated. Contreras’ older brother is, of course, Cubs catcher Willson Contreras. The brothers will take lineup cards out tonight, both managers agreed to do that so they can get a picture for their mom.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) April 28, 2022
William Contreras is not in the starting lineup on Thursday, but his brother is after coming up with a big hit in the 10th inning of Wednesday’s game to give the Cubs the lead.
We’ll see if William gets an appearance later in the game.
He’s hitting .292 in 48 at-bats for Gwinnett this year with no home runs, 3 walks, and 16 strikeouts.
William started the year in Atlanta as Manny was dealing with that sore wrist and was 0-4 with 3 strikeouts in his only game played.
The 24-year-old catcher is still struggling with the transition to big league pitching, while also trying to improve his skills behind the plate.
He’ll likely get a start or two over the next 10 days or so until Pina is able to come back.
With the injury history of Travis d’Arnaud and now Pina struggling to keep that wrist healthy — not to mention the trade of Shea Langeliers — William could play a big role with the Braves this season.