Nacho

Alvarez Jr.

Alvarez will go back to making a minor league salary after just four rehab games in which he went 4-for-15 with a double. The 22-year-old infielder had been on the IL with wrist inflammation since the beginning of the season.

Alvarez played just two games in the Florida Complex League, but he will now step up his rehab significantly in Triple-A. He has been out all season with his wrist injury and will need some time to get his rhythm back, but it’s possible he could return to Atlanta as a backup middle infielder.

Alvarez has been on the injured list since late March with what was deemed “wrist inflammation.” It would be likely that something else was going on since it’s been over two months, so it should be a lengthy rehab assignment for the 22-year-old shortstop. Even though Nick Allen isn’t providing a lot of offense in Atlanta, he’s been great defensively, so we wouldn’t expect Alvarez to push him for playing time unless Atlanta falls out of the playoff picture.

There hasn’t been much said about Alvarez’s injury, which was described as wrist inflammation when he went down at the end of February. The last update on MLB.com is four weeks old and pegged him for a mid-April return. He’ll be optioned to Triple-A once he proves healthy.

Alvarez dealt with a wrist issue throughout spring training and will presumably remain at Triple-A Gwinnett once his minor-league rehab assignment is through.

Alvarez left a spring training contest earlier this week following an awkward swing, but it doesn’t appear to be a serious concern. The 21-year-old prospect, who sipped a quick cup of coffee last year with Atlanta, told reporters on Saturday that he thinks he’ll be ready to return to game action in the next few days.

This simply comes down to the fact that Williams has no options remaining and would need to be subject to waivers if the Braves don’t want to carry him on the roster. While they might decide to take that risk, Williams can play almost every position on the field, which makes him an incredibly valuable bench option to have. That could mean bad news for the hopes of players like Christian Cairo, Eddy Alvarez, and Nacho Alvarez Jr. to make the team out of camp.

Considering Williams is on the active roster, he’s likely to favorite to get the first crack at the job. The 28-year-old is just 2-for-17 in 23 games at the big league level this season but was hitting .287/.348/.508 in 46 games at Triple-A with eight home runs and 15 steals. He also hit 12 home runs and stole 28 bases in Triple-A last year with the Braves and Dodgers, so there is some mild five-category upside in deeper formats if he can hold onto the job. Both Alejo Lopez and Brian Anderson would need to be added to the 40-man roster, but Lopez is hitting .308/.394/.393 in 96 games at Triple-A with 21 steals, so he could be a speed asset if he gets an opportunity. Nacho Alvarez is currently dealing with pneumonia, which has taken him out of the running for the job, and Bowman claims there are no current plans to move Whit Merrifield to third base.

Alvarez had a really tough first week in the majors, so the Braves have decided to roll with Whit Merrifield at second base for now. We doubt that will go especially well, but it might be the better option, just because of how overmatched Alvarez looked in going 3-for-30 with no extra-base hits, no walks and 10 strikeouts as Ozzie Albies’ initial replacement.

Merrifield remains out of Atlanta’s lineup for the third straight contest due to a right finger injury that he suffered earlier this week while warming up to make his Braves debut. The 35-year-old veteran is presumably going to be available off the bench at some point this week and is apparently still day-to-day for now. It’ll be rookie Nacho Alvarez Jr. at the keystone on Thursday night at Citi Field.