The NLCS MVP from last year, Eddie Rosario, is getting closer to making his return to the Atlanta Braves after having eye surgery and the team could use him.
During the offseason, the Atlanta Braves had some hard choices to make in terms of which key players aquired through trade they would bring back from their World Series championship team.
Adam Duvall was already under contract through arbitration, so that was an obvious choice.
It really came down to Jorge Soler, Joc Pederson, and Eddie Rosario.
Alex Anthopolous would have loved to bring all three of them back, but it just wasn’t feasible. And in the case of Soler, it just didn’t make sense once it was announced Marcell Ozuna would be eligible to return right away.
What did make sense was bringing back one of the lefties for a team that is very right-handed heavy.
Anthopolous elected to go with Rosario, which seemed like the right choice.
Hindsight being what it is, Pederson may have been the way to go.
Rosario signed for two years and $18 million, but was just 4-44 to start the season before mentioning the fact he had blurred vision.
That landed him on the 60-day IL as he had a procedure to repair his vision.
Braves News: Rosario Begins Rehab Assignment
Eddie Rosario will start a rehabilitation assignment Saturday night with Triple-A Gwinnett in Nashville. The veteran #Braves outfielder has been on the injured list since late April after experiencing blurred vision and swelling that required laser surgery to correct.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) June 25, 2022
In his first rehab game on Saturday, he faced a pretty tough lefty in Ethan Small and stuck out in first two at-bats.
This will be a longer rehab stint than usual as he tries to adjust post-surgery. The earliest we likely see him return is July 11, but the Braves can technically wait until July 15.
What his return means for the Braves is a veteran left-handed bat who will help balance out the lineup.
The defense isn’t great, but he still likely gets some starts in left field over Duvall.
Something to really watch is whether or not he gets starts in the DH spot over Marcell Ozuna.
Manager Brian Snitker can mix and match and ride the hot bat between those three every day.
Rosario came back from an injury last year and set the world on fire at the plate for the Braves. Here’s to hoping we see a similar result in 2022.