Braves Remain Cautious with Michael Harris, Iglesias Still Not Throwing

The Atlanta Braves are taking their time with key injured players, though their centerfielder should be back soon

The mindset appears that the Braves would rather be safe than sorry | Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves are choosing to be more cautious with outfielder Michael Harris II after he sustained a quad injury on Thursday. After anticipating he would play on Friday, he found himself out of the lineup. 

Eli White will play in centerfield on Friday, and he’ll bat ninth. Manager Walt Weiss assured that Harris, at this time, is not bound for the injured list. It’s all out of precaution, and he remains day-to-day.

Harris is dealing with quad tightness. He was doing running drills earlier on Friday, but he evidently wasn’t greenlit. 

It’s not the first time he’s dealt with an injury in his legs. He was on the 60-day injured list with a hamstring injury during the 2024 season. Knowing that likely lingers in the Braves' memory, and the desire to minimize and further injuries, it makes sense why they would err on the side of caution. 

It’s been a polar opposite start to the season for Harris compared to 2025. He’s batting .318 with a .912 OPS, six home runs, 16 RBIs and a pair of stolen bases. 

He’s hitting the ball hard, and he’s starting to draw walks. He’s currently posted a 5.6% walk rate, which would be the highest of his career if he can keep pace this season. 

Patience Being Given to Raisel Iglesias 

Braves closer Raisel Iglesias hasn’t resumed throwing since he went down with an injury earlier this week. He’s on the 15-day injured list due to shoulder inflammation. The move is retroactive to Monday, April 20. 

He last pitched on Sunday, his only appearance since April 15. At first, he was ruled to have simply slept on his shoulder funny, and he would be fine. That quickly proved not to be the case. 

Weiss said the team is still optimistic that he will be back when he is eligible to be activated from the injured list.

Iglesias had been carving up hitters all season. He’s yet to allow a run this season across 8 2/3 innings. He has five saves already this year, and he recently reached 100 since he joined the Braves.

An avalanche of injuries on the pitching side has already come down on the Braves since spring training. It started on the rotation side, but the bullpen has started to feel the injury bug. Dylan Dodd went down with a back injury this week as well. 

In the meantime, Robert Suarez is the closer. It's a role that made him in All-Star in San Diego for two seasons, and netted him 77 saves since the start of the 2024 season.

The Braves are set to play the Phillies on Friday to start a three-game series. Grant Holmes will be on the mound for a 7:15 p.m. first pitch. 

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