Braves' Jason Grilli expected to miss remainder of season with ruptured Achilles
Jason Grilli is done for the season.
The Atlanta Braves closer suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies and is expected to miss the remainder of the campaign.
Grilli was carted off the field after he crumbled to the ground in the ninth inning while trying to cover first base on a routine ground ball.
"I was about to throw him the ball and I saw the look on his face as he was going down," Braves first baseman Chris Johnson said. "I was like, 'Oh man, that's not good at all. He just started screaming. It looked pretty darn painful."
The righty is in the midst of a career year, recording 24 saves in 26 chances before the All-Star break while sporting a 2.67 ERA. His best season came when he was an All-Star in 2013, notching 33 saves for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
What could arguably be the toughest part of this whole ordeal is that the Braves entrusted Grilli with the closer role after trading away Craig Kimbrel to the San Diego Padres.
Setup man Jim Johnson is the likely candidate to assume closing duties in Grilli's absence.