Atlanta Braves’ Austin Riley Sends Encouraging Message Amid Career-Worst Season

The Atlanta Braves have had a huge bounce-back season, yet they have done it largely without any meaningful contributions from third baseman Austin Riley, which is surprising.

Riley does not provide much value defensively, grading out as a negative defender again this year. He has posted a Fielding Run Value of -4, according to Statcast's Baseball Savant.

The problem is he is supposed to make up for that in the batter's box, and he has not done that either. Across 88 games, the 29-year-old veteran right-handed slugger has posted a .211 batting average, .289 on-base percentage and .629 OPS, all of which would be nearly career lows if the season ended today.

He has just nine home runs and 41 RBIs and has seen his name consistently drop in manager Walt Weiss's batting order. This week, though, regardless of whether the results are fully there yet, Riley had an encouraging message for fans suggesting he feels he has turned a corner. 

"It's not all the way there yet, but I think we're turning in the right direction," Riley said when asked about his recent improvements at the plate on 680 The Fan. 

Riley will have time to figure it out and see if his statement holds true. He is still in the midst of his massive 10-year, $212 million contract that runs through the 2032 season.

That deal clearly does not look good right now, but it made sense why the Braves invested in him when they originally extended him back in August of 2022.

He played a huge role in their 2021 World Series run, is a two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger and has multiple top-10 finishes in National League MVP voting. The player the Braves signed that contract with is clearly in there somewhere. He just has to find it.

Riley does need to turn a corner soon, though. The Braves have slowed down offensively as a whole since their hot start, and him returning to form could be a big boost for a team whose ultimate goal is making a deep run in October once again. A healthy and productive Riley in the middle of that lineup changes the offense considerably. 

After Monday's second straight loss against the New York Mets, the Braves no longer have time to be patient with Riley. Atlanta once held a double-digit lead in the NL East. Unfortunately, that lead has evaporated and entering Tuesday, they are only three games ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Phillies.