Atlanta Braves fans were rudely greeted on Tuesday by the news that Drake Baldwin was put on the IL with an oblique injury. All of a sudden, the Braves were going to be without one of their best hitters and only healthy catcher of note at all. It was fair to wonder if Atlanta would be able to sustain their hot start to the season without him, as well as to wonder how long Baldwin could be out, given the tricky oblique recovery timelines.
After the Braves surged late to beat the Marlins 8-4, it looks like Atlanta may have gotten away with one here. During the post-game scrum, manager Walt Weiss was asked about Baldwin, and his update was encouraging, although it didn't come with as many answers as some fans hope.
Drake Baldwin has a grade 1 mild oblique strain but they don’t have a time line but Walt said when they say grade 1 it is a good thing.
— MattOlsonsBurner (@ChoppinBravos) May 19, 2026
Walt said they averted a major disaster.
Walt Weiss reveals Drake Baldwin has a Grade 1 oblique strain, but his return timeline is unclear
The best news here is that Baldwin only has a Grade 1 oblique strain and that the Braves "averted" disaster. Had Baldwin gotten a diagnosis of Grade 2 or worse, the time he would be out would be measured in months. THAT would have been quite bad. Oblique injuries are no joke in terms of recovery and lingering longer than you want, so Grade 2 is getting into "hope he is back early in the second half" territory.
However, what Weiss wasn't willing to do was to put a timeline on Baldwin's return to action. This is fair given the nature of oblique injuries and how physically demanding catching is, but that is little solace to a fanbase that just wants to know everything is okay. If you look at the oblique recoveries of other catchers like Shea Langeliers and Nick Fortes, a reasonable guess is in the three-to-four-week range as a starting point.
Now we just have to figure out how Atlanta is going to navigate the next weeks without Baldwin OR Sean Murphy, the latter of which is going to be out until at least near the All-Star break with a finger injury. Sandy Leon and Chadwick Tromp are fine stopgap solutions, but relying on them to handle everyday duties might be a bridge too far.
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