Johan Camargo won’t be activated from the disabled list quite as soon as planned, mainly because the Braves no longer feel the need to expedite his return.
The Braves’ would’ve-been opening-day third baseman began the season on the 10-day DL recovering from a strained oblique muscle. He was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in his first rehab game for high Single-A Florida on Thursday and was set play at least two more games there before the Braves evaluate his situation again, Braves manager Brian Snitker said Friday.
The tentative plan had been to activate Camargo at some point during a three-game weekend series in Colorado, but that was altered in light of strong production from Braves fill-in third baseman Ryan Flaherty, who hit .423 (10-for-23) with four doubles during a six-game season-opening homestand.
“We’re just going to let him stay down there,” Snitker said of Camargo, who was injured March 13 and hadn’t played again until Thursday. “We’ll let him play shortstop today, DH tomorrow (at high-A Florida). Reports I got were he’s fine defensively but looked a little rusty offensively, which is to be expected. He’s been off a month or so now.
“But he’s healthy; if we had to bring him back I’d have no reservations. But right now I just don’t feel like there’s a pressing need to rush him back here, so get some at-bats under his belt.”
Flaherty, a veteran utility man who signed with the Braves on the last weekend of spring training, was tied for the National League hits lead entering Friday after hitting safely in all of the Braves’ first six games.
The Braves scored a majors-leading 48 runs while going 4-2 in their homestand with series wins against the Phillies and Nationals, and two keys to their success were Flaherty and unheralded left fielder Preston Tucker, who was 9-for-21 (.429) with two doubles, two homers and eight RBIs in six games and was tied for eighth in the majors in slugging percentage (.810) before Friday.
Tucker is handling left field until phenom Ronald Acuna arrives, but so far he’s done far more than just keep the seat warm.
“Can’t say enough about them,” Snitker said of his productive replacements. “I said about Flaherty, I kind of watched him from afar over the last few years (with Baltimore) and had a really good impression of him, just as a ballplayer. Preston Tucker had a really good spring and he’s came on, he’s continued to hit. So it’s been two really nice surprises. Didn’t know what to expect. Consequently, it doesn’t force us to rush a kid (Camargo) back who probably could use some more reps. ...
“Even when everybody comes back, to have guys like Flaherty and Charlie Culberson, just with the versatility that they can go to the outfield, play all the infield positions, the experience that they bring – it’s perfect for our situation year. With the new-age bench, there’s only four guys, so you like to have guys that are versatile.”
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