Braves' Walt Weiss Announces Drake Baldwin Update After Unfortunate Injury News
The Atlanta Braves made an unfortunate announcement ahead of Tuesday's game against the Miami Marlins. Arguably their most impactful player, catcher Drake Baldwin, was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained right oblique.
He suffered the injury during Monday's loss, exiting in the sixth inning and being replaced by Sandy Leon behind the plate. This setback interrupts what has been a breakout into superstardom for Baldwin.
The reigning National League Rookie of the Year has taken another huge step forward at the plate. Through 48 games, the 25-year-old has posted a .303 batting average, .389 on-base percentage, .931 OPS, 13 home runs and 38 RBIs.
Not only was Baldwin looking like a lock to make the All-Star team, but he was firmly an MVP candidate.
Ahead of Tuesday's game against the Marlins, manager Walt Weiss spoke with the media and addressed Baldwin's move to the injured list for the first time and the next steps.
Weiss revealed that Baldwin has officially left the team and returned to Atlanta. He will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury (h/t Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
Baldwin's injury comes at a really unfortunate time. His backup, Sean Murphy, is also currently sidelined with a fractured left middle finger, leaving Atlanta to rely on Leon and Chadwick Tromp behind the plate for the foreseeable future.
Walt Weiss says today that Baldwin returned to Atlanta on Tuesday to get an MRI https://t.co/QtaG8yuC0t
— Chad Bishop (@MrChadBishop) May 19, 2026
Baldwin had been in the lineup for every game before Tuesday, with the Braves routinely placing him at designated hitter just to keep his bat in the lineup. His contributions thus far have helped Atlanta jumped out to a 32-16 record.
The club entered Tuesday holding sole possession of first place in the NL East and the best record in MLB.
The Braves will now have to navigate a difficult stretch without their most productive hitter, hoping Baldwin's MRI brings encouraging news and a short-term absence rather than a long one.
Related: Braves' Michael Harris Announces Personal News Amid MLB Season
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 4:14 PM.