Heyward Placed on DL; Will Miss Remainder of Season

Jason Heyward was placed on the 15-Day DL by the Braves yesterday, with a broken jaw. It was announced later that he would miss the remainder of the 2013 season. His availability for the postseason will be determined at a later date, according to reports.

The Braves have outfield depth in Jordan Schafer, as he's hitting .276/.304/.401 this season, with 3 home runs and 15 RBI. Although Schafer will be an average replacement, Jason Heyward posted a WAR of 3.0, as the Braves will highly miss the right fielder whose slash line is well above Schafer's with .253/.347/.423.

Another option for the Braves is placing Evan Gattis in left field, BJ Upton in center, and Justin Upton in right. Gattis would be such an improvement hitting- wise over any utility player. But, he needs to improve his fielding in left before he can become the every day left fielder.

Obviously, Heyward will be highly missed, and the Braves only have until August 31st to acquire a new outfielder via trade. But, they are in a comfortable position in the National League East, and aren't light-hitting at all. If every team was to lose Heyward, I believe the Braves would be one of the teams that wouldn't hurt as much, due to their depth and hitting.