On Monday evening, retired MLB player and occasional news-breaker Carlos Baerga made an Instagram post stating that Eddie Rosario would be undergoing eye surgery and could miss a substantial amount of the season. The original post is in Spanish, but it translates as follows: “[t]he Puerto-Rican outfielder for the Atlanta Braves, Eddie Rosario, will be out of the game for 7 to 8 weeks while an EYE will be operated on. We pray to God for a speedy recovery.”

(Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CcywpDfrhOV/, translated by Michael Kasper)

Baerga has not historically been the most reliable source in his Instagram reporting; for example, right after the lockout ended, he insisted that Freddie Freeman would sign with the Toronto Blue Jays. However, in Rosario’s case, all room for doubt was removed when the official Atlanta Braves Twitter account confirmed the news about two hours later, and clarified that the operation would be on his right eye. While the Braves’ social media crew didn’t mention a return timeline, Atlanta Journal-Constitution beat writer Justin Toscano estimated that the right fielder could miss 8 to 12 weeks, a substantially longer timeframe than what Baerga initially reported.

The Braves’ right fielder has struggled mightily throughout the early days of the season, both offensively and defensively. Rosario has slashed a dismal .068/.163/.091 so far, and has already committed three errors, including an embarrassing dropped popup on what Chip Caray would call a “can of corn”. Rosario’s difficulty physically seeing the ball is a very logical explanation for all those issues, which, on the bright side, means it might be much easier for him to break out of his slump than if it were purely a problem with his mental game. That’s not much of a silver lining, however, as the Braves could very well be without Eddie until late July.

Additionally, with the Braves losing a fairly-regular outfield starter—who’s been playing in Ronald Acuña Jr.’s position—it also makes sense that the Braves will be more inclined to continue fast-tracking Ronald’s recovery and get him back in the big leagues. For now, Atlanta’s bringing up right-handed pitcher William Woods to take Eddie’s roster spot while he goes on the 10-day IL.

I hope Eddie has a smooth surgery, a speedy recovery, and can quickly return to his legendary postseason form!