Braves activate Kotchman off DL

Cincinnati — First baseman Casey Kotchman returned to action Tuesday night against the Reds after 15 days on the disabled list to rest his strained right calf.

Kotchman first injured his right shin getting hit by a pitch in Arizona on May 31, and he hurt his calf in his initial reaction to getting hit. He struggled to put any weight on his leg at first, and it was a week before he was doing any running.

After two games on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment in Gwinnett over the weekend, though, Kotchman came away feeling good, or at least good enough.

“It feels good,” Kotchman said. “I gave it some work and was able to run on it and do the things I felt were necessary to complete.”

He scored from third on a fairly shallow sacrifice fly Saturday night, testing it right away.

“That was the first time I was on the bases,” Kotchman said. “And I had to accelerate from the get-go. Then scoring from second, making the turn … yeah, it feels good.”

Kotchman was hitting .277 with 16 doubles and 24 RBIs in 50 games when he got hurt. He was back in the lineup Friday, batting sixth.

“It’s always hard to miss one game let alone not be able to try and contribute for 15,” Kotchman said. “It’s something you don’t want to come up again and miss any more time. So you just try to get it as good as you can and be ready to play.”

Canizares demoted

Barbaro Canizares was optioned back to Class AAA Gwinnett to make room for Kotchman on the roster. He was to meet up with the G-Braves in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

“We only have three more games until we have the [designated hitter],” said manager Bobby Cox, who indicated Chipper Jones will probably play DH in a couple of the games this weekend against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Canizares was 4-for-17 (.235) with a double during his first four games in the majors. Never known for his defense at first base, Canizares held his own and made an impression in the clubhouse as well.

“He did a good job, hard worker,” Cox said. “He was always into the game, every pitch. He played first base OK, got the job done. And he swung it pretty good.”

Cox said outfielder Gregor Blanco gives him more options off the bench.

“We can use Blanco on defense [in a late-game substitution], to play, pinch run,” Cox said.