The Atlanta Braves placed outfielder Jordan Schafer on the 15-day disabled list Thursday morning with a right ankle contusion, the team announced. The club then purchased the contract of Triple-A outfielder Joey Terdoslavich to take the open roster spot.
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Schafer, 26, has been bothered by a sore ankle since fouling a ball off his leg on June 26. While his initial X-rays came back negative, Schafer has been unable to do anything more than pinch-hit in the last week, accruing just two plate appearances in the Braves' last five games. Because Schafer came off the bench Tuesday and Wednesday, the Braves cannot backdate his DL stint.
While not really known for his offensive prowess, Schafer's strong showing with the bat so far this season has helped alleviate some of the distress caused by the persistent struggles of B.J. Upton and Jason Heyward.
The lefty-swinging outfielder is batting an stellar .312/.399/.464 with three home runs in 146 plate appearances, by far the best numbers of his career. His slash numbers are buoyed by a .414 batting average on balls in play, so his output is bound to regress eventually, but it does not make his performance any less impressive.
With Schafer out, the Braves have to hope that either Upton and Heyward will turn things around, or that Terdoslavich can get off to a blazing start in his first big-league stint. The 24-year-old wasn't on anyone's Top 100 list before the season, but that hasn't stopped him from mashing the ball in his second go at Triple-A pitching. The young switch-hitter is batting .318/.359/.567 with 18 home runs in 85 games at Gwinnett this season.
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