Braves' Austin Riley: Undergoes season-ending surgery
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Atlanta announced Thursday that Riley (abdomen) underwent season-ending core injury surgery.
Riley is expected to be ready for the start of spring training in February. The third baseman has been out since Aug. 2 and had been experiencing soreness in his abdominal area, and he was rehabbing to play again this year before suffering a setback this week. With surgery now in the rearview mirror, Riley's 2025 season is officially over, and he finished with a .260/.309/.428 slash line, 16 home runs, 54 RBI, 54 runs scored, two stolen bases and a 27:128 BB:K across 447 plate appearances. Now that he's done for the year, Riley will have missed a total of 112 games over the past two seasons.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Return delayed due to soreness
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Riley (abdomen) felt more soreness during a workout Tuesday and is not expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list anytime soon, Gabe Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Riley has been sidelined for most of August with a strained lower abdominal muscle and continues to feel discomfort each time he attempts to ramp up activities. With Atlanta out of playoff contention, the club has little incentive to push its third baseman back onto the active roster. Consider Riley out indefinitely. Nacho Alvarez will continue to occupy the hot corner in Riley's absence.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Runs bases, still feels sore
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Riley ran the bases Sunday but still felt some abdominal discomfort, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
He will run again Tuesday, but a timeline for Riley's return to the Atlanta roster remains unclear. Riley has been sidelined for most of this month with a strained lower abdominal muscle. Nacho Alvarez will continue filling in at third base for Atlanta until Riley is ready to return from the injured list.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Still discomfort while throwing
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Riley (abdomen) still felt discomfort while throwing Tuesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Riley is eligible to come off the 10-day IL on Friday, but the expectation is that he's going to need more time to recover from his abdominal strain. Nacho Alvarez has been handling the bulk of the third-base duties for Atlanta while Riley has been sidelined.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Not expected to need rehab stint
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Riley (abdomen) likely won't need a rehab assignment before rejoining Atlanta's lineup, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Manager Brian Snitker wouldn't offer a guess as to when the third baseman might be activated from the IL, but Riley's not expected to be too far behind Ronald Acuna (calf), who should rejoin the lineup before the end of the week. Riley has been sidelined since Aug. 2 after aggravating an abdominal strain that had previously cost him eight games sandwiched around the All-Star break. It's been a disappointing season overall for the 28-year-old, whose .737 OPS would be his lowest mark since he became a full-time player in 2021.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Back to IL with abdominal strain
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Atlanta placed Riley on the 10-day injured list Monday with a strained lower abdominal muscle.
Riley spent a couple weeks on the injured list in July with an abdominal strain and is now back on the IL after aggravating the injury Sunday. He will be eligible for activation Aug. 14, but Atlanta will likely be more cautious with his recovery this time around. Nacho Alvarez was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to step in as the everyday third baseman.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Departs due to abdominal pain
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Riley was removed from Sunday's game against the Reds due to lower abdominal pain.
Sunday was slated to be an off day for Cincinnati and Atlanta, but the two clubs instead resumed Saturday's MLB Speedway Classic after the game was suspended in the first inning due to rain. Riley struck out swinging Saturday before the game was halted, and he was replaced by Luke Williams before coming up to the plate Sunday. The severity of the injury remains unclear, and Riley should be considered day-to-day heading into Monday's series opener versus Milwaukee. Given that Riley was reinstated July 25 following a stint on the injured list due to a lower abdominal strain, it's worrisome that he's seemingly dealing with a recurrence of the injury just over a week later.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Homers, plates four in win
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Riley went 2-for-6 with a homer, a double, and four RBI in Monday's 10-7 victory at Kansas City.
The Atlanta third baseman clubbed a 422-foot solo shot off Royals reliever Sam Long to tally his first long ball since returning from an abdomen injury July 25. Riley also cleared the bases with his 20th two-bagger of the season in the eighth to notch his fourth game with four or more RBI this season. Through 427 total plate appearances, the two-time All-Star is slashing .268/.319/.437 with 15 homers, 52 RBI and 52 runs scored in 97 games.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Back from injured list
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Atlanta reinstated Riley (abdomen) from the 10-day injured list Friday.
The third baseman was still feeling some discomfort in his lower abdomen earlier this week, but he's ready to rejoin the big-league roster Friday after spending two weeks on the injured list. Riley had a hot start to July prior to the injury, going 13-for-41 (.317 average) with five doubles, two homers, six RBI and five runs in 10 games.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Still feeling symptoms
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Riley indicated Tuesday that he still felt some discomfort in his lower abdomen, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports. Atlanta is targeting Friday for the third baseman to return from the injured list.
"Not sore, but I think there's still a shadow of something in there, from talking to him," manager Brian Snitker said Tuesday. "And we started thinking about it -- using the next two days with the off day is probably the smart thing." Atlanta's place in the standings doesn't give the team much incentive to rush Riley back into the lineup, but the schedule also worked against his earlier return, as a Tuesday night activation would have been followed by a quick turnaround before a Wednesday afternoon contest. Atlanta begins a nine-game road trip Friday against the Rangers, but Snitker wouldn't commit to Riley suiting up for that contest. "We'll see how he feels when he wakes up Friday," the manager said.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Return could be pushed to Friday
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Riley (abdomen) will not be activated from the 10-day injured list Tuesday and could have his return pushed back to Friday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
The expectation had been that Riley would return from the IL on Tuesday when first eligible, but Atlanta is all but out of playoff contention and has decided it would be wise to give the third baseman a little more time to recover from his right abdominal strain. Nacho Alvarez will continue to fill in at the hot corner until Riley is activated.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Runs on field Sunday
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Riley (abdomen) ran on the outfield and around the bases Sunday, and he seems likely to be activated from the injured list when first eligible Tuesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Riley's activity Sunday is another positive sign after he took batting practice Friday. The star third baseman was placed on the injured list with a right abdominal strain July 12, but he's said to be feeling better and optimistic about being able to return next week, possibly as soon as Tuesday when he's first eligible. While Riley has been out of action, Nacho Alvarez has been starting at third base for Atlanta.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Taking batting practice
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Riley (abdomen) participated in batting practice Friday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Riley landed on the injured list shortly before the All-Star break with a right abdominal strain. After using the All-Star break to rehab back home, the 28-year-old said he is feeling much better now and is optimistic about his chances to return sometime next week, per David O'Brien of The Athletic. Until then, Nacho Alvarez should continue to work as Atlanta's primary third baseman.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Lands on injured list
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Atlanta placed Riley on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a right abdominal strain.
Riley's abdomen forced him to make an early exit during the fourth inning of Friday's contest, and now that further evaluation has confirmed a strain, he'll remain on the sidelines until at least July 22. Nacho Alvarez will come up from Triple-A Gwinnett to replenish Atlanta's infield depth, though Luke Williams is the most likely option to take over at third base until Riley returns.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Launches homer in loss
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Riley went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-2 loss to the Marlins.
Riley hit his 12th home run of the season, pushing him into sole possession of second place on the team. It was nice to see the pop return to the 28-year-old's bat, as Friday's homer was his first extra-base hit in nine games. However, the strikeout numbers remain most concerning with Riley, who has now struck out at least once in nine straight games and 15 times total over that stretch. His strikeout rate sits at 28.7 percent for the season.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Stays hot with three hits
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Riley went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in Monday's win over the Brewers.
The third baseman has a history of heating up with the weather, and Riley has reeled off four multi-hit performances over the last five games to fuel a .323/.364/.548 slash line over the last 15 contests. The 28-year-old also has a 3:17 BB:K over that stretch however, continuing a trend that has seen him post his worst plate-discipline rates on the season (6.3 percent walk rate, 27.4 percent strikeout rate) since his rookie campaign in 2019.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Drives in four in nightcap
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Riley went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, four total RBI and a second run scored in a 9-3 win over the Phillies in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader.
Riley opened the scoring with a two-run double off Zack Wheeler in the fourth inning before extending Atlanta's lead to 8-0 with a homer off Joe Ross, his ninth of the year and first in 22 games. Overall, the 28-year-old Riley is slashing .280/.339/.444 with 32 RBI, 30 runs scored and two stolen bases across 245 plate appearances this season.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Rare stolen base in loss
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Riley went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base in Wednesday's loss to the Reds.
Wednesday marked the first stolen base of the campaign and the sixth career steal for the All-Star third baseman. Riley also extended his hitting streak to six games and his on-base streak to 10. Since April 27, Riley is hitting a strong .286 (12-for-42) with two home runs, two doubles, seven RBI and four runs scored.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Homers twice in win
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Riley went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Dodgers.
Riley was Atlanta's offense in this contest, taking Dustin May deep for two-run shots in the first and third innings. He hadn't homered in his last 10 games, though he batted .302 with two doubles and five RBI in that span. The third baseman is off to a resurgent start in 2025, batting .292 with an .847 OPS, eight homers, 24 RBI, 14 runs scored and six doubles across 33 contests.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Another multi-RBI effort
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Riley went 2-for-5 with two RBI in Tuesday's win over the Rockies.
With Tuesday's performance, Riley has now registered at least one hit in nine of his last 10 games. During that period, the star third baseman has three multi-RBI efforts and is batting .318 (14-for-44) with one home run, one double and eight RBI. Despite not providing much pop during the stretch, Riley entered Tuesday with an elite 52.6 percent hard-hit rate on the season.
