Zack

Short

Short went unclaimed on waivers after being removed from Atlanta’s 40-man roster earlier this week. The 29-year-old infielder got into 30 games for the Braves after being acquired back in May from the Red Sox, batting .148 (8-for-54) with zero homers and two steals. He’s merely emergency organizational depth at this stage of his career.

It’s a little surprising the Braves are keeping Luke Williams over Short, but then Short did make an ugly error yesterday. The light-hitting utilityman played in 30 games for the Braves and batted .148/.313/.204 in 69 plate appearances. He also served brief stints with the Mets (1-for-9) and Red Sox (0-for-7) earlier this season.

Merrifield’s debut in a Braves uniform will likely have to wait at least another day, unless he’s able to come off the bench in this one, as he continues to recover from a right finger injury that he suffered during pregame warmups on Monday night. He’s day-to-day for now. It’ll be Zack Short at second base on Tuesday night in his absence.

Arcia had his abscessed tooth extracted on Tuesday but is still dealing with an infection and wasn’t quite ready to go on Wednesday. Zack Short will draw another start in his place at shortstop and will bat ninth against Jordan Hicks and the Giants on Wednesday evening in Atlanta.

Arcia is on the bench with Zack Short playing shortstop for Atlanta. It could be a day of rest for the 29-year-old, but it’s worth pointing out that he missed time while dealing with an illness last week. There’ll be an injury update if necessary, but for now Arcia shouldn’t be in lineups for Tuesday’s contest.

Yikes. Riley has progressed to taking batting practice without any issues, but it appears the Braves don’t want to take any chances here. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker told reports Friday that he doesn’t expect Riley back until Monday’s series opener against the Nationals. The 27-year-old fantasy star hasn’t played since May 12 and will miss his 12th consecutive contest on Saturday afternoon at PNC Park. It’ll be Zack Short drawing another start at the hot corner in his absence.

No surprise here as Riley will miss his eighth straight contest due to an ongoing side issue after sitting out both contests of Monday’s doubleheader. There’s been zero indication that he’ll wind up requiring a trip to the injured list, despite the fact that he’s yet to resume swinging a bat. It’s a frustrating situation for fantasy managers, but it doesn’t sound like the Braves are going to make a roster move at this juncture. It’ll be Zack Short drawing another start at the keystone on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.

Riley will miss his fifth straight contest due to left side inflammation. There’s a possibility he’ll be ready to go at some point later this weekend, but Atlanta clearly doesn’t want to take any chances by rushing him back too quickly. It’ll be Zack Short drawing another start at the hot corner in his ongoing absence.

It’s still encouraging that there has been no chatter about a possible trip to the injured list, which would seemingly mean that Riley is making progress and should return to the lineup any day now. Zack Short will once again start in his place at the hot corner and will bat ninth against Matt Waldron and the Padres.

Short was recently designated for assignment, but he’ll now head to Atlanta in a trade. The 28-year-old has appeared in 12 games this season, 10 with the Mets and two with the Red Sox, and has just one hit in his 19 plate appearances.