Braves act quickly, signing former Yankees IF as surprise Austin Riley replacement
The Atlanta Braves have been absolutely snakebit in 2024. With the word yesterday that third baseman Austin Riley would miss the next 6-8 weeks with a broken hand, the Braves basically have an All-Star that either is on the injured list or has missed considerable time with injuries this year. That Atlanta has somehow hung on to a wild card spot this far despite their rotten luck speaks to the depth of the roster.
Unfortunately, losing Riley presented a unique problem. With Nacho Alvarez dealing with pneumonia and not exactly impressing in his first stint in the big leagues, Atlanta did not have a great option to replace Riley and play third base down the stretch. Sure, they have some bench guys that can physically play the position, but they were not bats that were ever going to move the needle.
In a surprise wrinkle on Tuesday, reports that the Braves were close to a deal with Gio Urshela emerged. While he is no Riley, Urshela may be exactly what Atlanta was looking for given the circumstances.
Gio Urshela, released on Sunday by the Tigers, is closing in on a major league agreement with the Braves, The Post has learned. Atlanta announced Monday that third baseman Austin Riley would be lost 6-8 weeks with a fractured right hand.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) August 20, 2024
Braves News: Atlanta close to signing Gio Urshela to major league deal
Adequately replacing Riley at this point of the season is basically impossible, but that a guy with Urshela's experience and potential upside was available at all is kind of miraculous. Urshela is probably best known for his three seasons with the Yankees where he posted a .292/.335/.480 line from 2019-2021. However, Urshela put up very decent, if unexciting, seasons with the Twins and Angels after that before struggling this year after signing with the Tigers.
Urshela's down year with Detroit ultimately resulted in him getting DFAed a couple days ago when the Tigers decided to give prospects Trey Sweeney and Jace Jung a late season opportunity. Just like that, a quality (if imperfect) replacement for Riley emerged out of nowhere.
The details of Urshela's deal will matter here as paying up or even giving him a multi-year deal is probably a bad idea given his injury history and recent performance. However, if he is cheap, Urshela has some upside at the plate and will probably be an adequate enough defender at third to at least help stop the bleeding for the Braves. At this point, that is all they can ask for.
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