Yesterday afternoon people were saying that the Braves would sit Jason Heyward for a couple of games so he could rest his injured thumb. After yesterday’s game we learned that the team was much more serious about giving the kid a rest: they placed him on the 15-day disabled list. Heyward has a strained ligament in his thumb. While it will not require surgery, the team obviously wants him healthy for what the team hopes will be the playoff stretch. Given how ineffective Heyward has been over the past three weeks, losing him for the short term won’t make a terrible difference for the team in the immediate future. It will be really hard to cover for his absence for long, however.
Matt Diaz, who has been rehabbing, will be activated today to take Heyward’s place on the roster.
