ATLANTA – The Atlanta Braves were hoping catcher Evan Gattis could avoid a trip to the disabled list. Now they are just hoping he won’t be on the DL too long.
“You never know until the MRI,” manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
The MRI on Monday revealed that Gattis has a bulging thoracic disk in his back and he will be placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday.
“I don’t know what the timetable is yet, but I don’t think it will be too long term,” Gattis said.
The Braves fan favorite will get an epidural shot to ease the pain and then hope that rest takes care of the situation.
“Apparently 95 percent of these resolve themselves without surgery,” Gattis said.
The slugger was injured swinging through a changeup in his first at-bat Friday in Philadelphia. He had a 20-game hitting streak recently and leads all major league catchers with 16 home runs.
The loss of Gattis is a blow to the Braves, who are in first place in the National League East despite an offense that had been sputtering even with him.
Gattis was batting .290 and had 39 RBIs in 63 games.
In Gattis’ absence, the Braves will split catching duties between veteran Gerald Laird and rookie Christian Bethancourt.
Bethancourt has started two games since being promoted from Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday and is 2-for-7. He reached base twice on Monday, once when hit by a pitch, and scored a run in the Braves’ 5-3 comeback victory over the New York Mets.