Braves could activate Travis d'Arnaud as soon as Tuesday

The Braves are planning to activate Travis d’Arnaud from the 60-day injured list this week, possibly on Tuesday when Atlanta begins a series with the Reds. Manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that d’Arnaud is slated to catch all nine innings of a minor league rehab game on Sunday, representing a final step in his recovery from surgery to repair a thumb ligament. A Silver Slugger winner in 2020, d’Arnaud hasn’t played since May 1 of this season, contributing to Atlanta’s near-total dearth of production from the catcher position.

Huascar Ynoa is also working his way back from a broken hand, as Snitker said the righty threw 68 pitches in his most recent rehab outing on Friday and is scheduled to toss roughly 85 pitches in his next outing. With a 3.02 ERA over nine starts and 44 2/3 innings, Ynoa was a nice surprise for Atlanta’s rotation before his injury, and he could be used as either a starter, long reliever, or both upon his return to the active roster.

More injury updates from around the National League…

• “I’m going to pitch in Pittsburgh,” Jack Flaherty told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters, indicating that he plans to return from the 60-day IL during the Cardinals’ upcoming series with the Pirates from Aug. 10-12. A left oblique strain put Flaherty on the IL on June 1, leaving the Cards without their ace for a big chunk of the season. Miles Mikolas is also tentatively scheduled to return for next weekend’s series against the Royals, as Mikolas is working through a minor-league rehab assignment of his own. Mikolas missed the entire 2020 season due to flexor tendon surgery, then made just one start in May before heading back to the IL due to forearm tightness.
• Some bullpen reinforcements look to be on the way for the Reds, as Lucas Sims might be activated from the 10-day IL on Sunday, and Tejay Antone could be ready sometime this week. Both relievers went on the injured list in the final week of June — Sims with a sprained right elbow, and Antone with a right forearm strain. Reds manager David Bell told Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer and other reporters that Sims has “a pretty strong chance” of returning Saturday, while Antone’s timeline is more tentative since he was only scheduled to begin his rehab assignment on Saturday. “We want to get him back as quick as we can, but we want to do it in a way that is best for Tejay, and we can have him for the rest of the year and he doesn’t have to deal with this anymore at all, even next year or beyond,” Bell said.
• Nick Senzel’s status is even more uncertain, as Bell said Senzel is “still not recovering exactly how we would want him to” after a week of rehab games. Senzel underwent arthroscopic knee surgery at the end of May and was initially given a recovery timeline of four to six weeks. Things are open-ended enough that Bell said Senzel might return to the Reds within a couple of days if he shows improvement, but for now, the oft-injured Senzel is once again sidelined.