Braves relief ace Jesse Chavez carried off field with scary knee injury

Atlanta Braves pitcher Jesse Chavez had to be carried off the field after getting hit below the left knee on a comebacker by Miguel Cabrera on Wednesday.

The Atlanta Braves entered Wednesday facing a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers and looking to avoid a series loss. But in the sixth inning of the opening game, Atlanta saw one of their relief pitchers go down with a terrifying injury.

Jesse Chavez entered in relief of starter Spencer Strider with Atlanta leading 7-5. On his fourth pitch thrown, Tigers designated hitter Miguel Cabrera connected on a single straight to the pitcher’s mound. The thing is, the 99.6 mph baseball hit Chavez right below the left knee. As catcher Travis D’Arnaud ran to get the baseball, Chavez laid on the mound in pain.

Chavez couldn’t put any weight on his left leg, and had to be helped off the field by members of the training staff. Kirby Yates entered the game in relief of Chavez.

Braves: Jesse Chavez carried off field after scary injury

The Braves did not release an update on Chaves as of this writing.

Atlanta is already dealing with injuries to their bullpen. Dylan Lee has been on the 15-day injured list since May 19 due to left shoulder inflammation. Not to mention that Tyler Matzek and Huascar Ynoa are out for the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Now, Chavez could be in danger of missing some time.

Chavez is having a great 2023 season with the Braves. The veteran reliever recorded a 1.55 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, 36 strikeouts, and nine walks in 29.0 innings (31 games). Additionally, Chavez recorded 13 holds and recorded one save in three opportunities.

We will continue to keep you updated on Chavez’s injury once more details are provided by the team.

UPDATE: Via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chavez’s x-rays came back negative and is undergoing further tests. Additionally, Chavez had suffered an injury to his left shin bone.