Austin Riley's injury proves Braves already have postseason mentality

The Atlanta Braves are one of the more talented teams in Major League Baseball, featuring a lineup loaded with talent and power. They are World Series contenders, despite losing Spencer Strider for the year.

With that in mind, it would come as no surprise that they would play, act and manage the ballclub with a postseason mentality. What exactly does that mean? Their eyes are on the bigger prize, meaning they will sacrifice the now if it sets them up better in the future.

The handling of Austin Riley's injury proves the Braves have a postseason mentality already

This postseason mentality can be seen on full display with the handling of Austin Riley's recent injury. The Braves slugger left Sunday's game with tightness on his left side.

"He was sore," Braves manager Brian Snitker said via ESPN. "I just didn't want to take chances, so we'll look at him again tomorrow [May 13] and see what's up."

On May 13, it was revealed that Riley underwent imaging on his side and the results hadn't been released yet.

With Riley being such a big piece in this Braves lineup, they need him out there every day to win as many baseball games as possible. But the decision to pull him in this scenario shows their attention to the bigger picture: the 2024 World Series.

They are very obviously in the mentality that one game isn't worth the risk of losing a star player like Austin Riley in the long run. They will need him in the lineup in the postseason if they want to compete with the powerhouses among them in the National League.

Riley isn't the only player they would handle like this either, especially after losing Strider for the season. Players like Olson, Acuna, Albies and Ozuna would all likely get this treatment as they each play such a crucial role in making the 2024 Braves offense as electric as it is.

Hopefully everything is okay with Austin Riley. Brian Snitker and the Atlanta Braves are handling the situation in the perfect way, with their eyes already set on the future of the season. The best ability is availability and Atlanta isn't playing around with Riley's availability for the future.