Whit Merrifield has broken left foot

ATLANTA — Whit Merrifield went to sleep thinking he was going to miss at least six weeks with the left foot fracture he suffered when he fouled a pitch off his foot during Friday night’s win over the Blue Jays.

When the Braves second baseman met with a foot specialist on Saturday, he gained a sense he might actually return to action during next weekend’s four-game series against the Dodgers at Truist Park.

“When they saw the CT scan and saw the small fracture, automatically it was six to eight [weeks],” manager Brian Snitker said. “Then they talked to the foot specialist, he said, ‘He’s not going to hurt it anymore. It’s about what he can tolerate.’”

Merrifield fouled a pitch off top of his left foot — near his ankle — in the fifth inning on Friday; he fouled off another pitch before grounding out against Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman. This comes just days after he took a 94.5 mph fastball to the head against Colorado.

After playing second base in the top of the sixth, he returned to the dugout and told Snitker that his foot “was killing him.” X-rays were negative, but a CT scan and MRI exam both showed the fracture.

“It’s a stable fracture,” Merrifield said. “So, we’ll try to get the soft tissue and swelling down. It’s just a pain tolerance thing after that from my understanding.”

Merrifield was playing second base in place of Ozzie Albies, who is still not ready to return from the left wrist fracture he sustained on July 21. Albies was projected to miss six to eight weeks. Sunday will be the seven-week mark, but there is still no indication as to when Albies will even start a Minor League rehab stint.

Albies is still feeling discomfort when swinging from the left side of the plate. When Snitker was asked if the veteran switch-hitter might try to exclusively bat right-handed the rest of the year, he said that decision was up to the player.

Snitker said Luke Williams and outfielder Eli White will handle the second base position while Merrifield and Albies remain sidelined. White played both middle infield positions during his early years in the Minors and served as the Rangers’ second baseman for three games in 2021.