Braves Reinstate Riley, Option Infielder to Triple-A to Clear Spot

The Atlanta Braves get their all-star third baseman back in the lineup ahead of their next road trip

That's one fewer player to worry about being hurt now | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves are one step closer to being back to full health. They announced on Friday morning that they have reinstated Austin Riley from the 10-day injured list and optioned Nacho Alvarez Jr. back to Triple-A in a corresponding move. 

Riley was eligible to return on Tuesday, but the team felt it was worth giving him the extra couple of days out of precaution. 

“I think there’s still a shadow of something in there,” Snitker said on Tuesday. “And talking to him, and we started thinking about it, and it’s like, you know, using the next two days and the off day’s probably he smart thing, and more likely if we played him today, wouldn’t want to fire him up on short rest tomorrow.”

While he was already likely to return on Friday, Snitker said it would ultimately come down to how Riley felt when he got up that day. It sounds like he got out of bed this morning and felt ready to go. 

The Braves' All-Star third baseman went down with an abdominal injury on July 11. He exited the game early and went on the injured list the following day. 

Riley is batting .274 with a .764 OPS, 14 home runs and 48 RBIs in 93 games this season. It’s been an up-and-down year for him, but he’s still one of the more important bats to be absent from the lineup. 

Alvarez had been filling for him at third base. He’s not quite ready for the Majors yet. He batted .200 with a .483 OPS in eight games played. He showed improvement from his last stint. In the same number of games, he batted .100 with a .256 OPS in 2024. 

He also flashed some solid defense at the hot corner during his time up with Atlanta. 

It’s not the last we’ll see of Alvarez. He’s the Braves' top position player prospect and depending on the rest of the season, the winter and Spring Training shake out, he could find himself earning a big-league roster spot on a full-time basis.