Phoenix — Chipper Jones sounded like he expects to be in the lineup when he comes off the disabled list Friday, but Braves manager Bobby Cox indicated that might not be the case.

The major-league hitting leader has been on the DL for two weeks recovering from a pulled left hamstring, and Jones is coming back without benefit of an injury-rehabilitation assignment.

He prefers to jump back in, as he has done a couple of other times in recent years.

"We'll see what happens," Cox said before Thursday night's series opener against Arizona. "He might not be able to play right away. He might have to pinch-hit him for a few games."

When told before batting practice Thursday that Cox mentioned the possibility of him being used only to pinch-hit for a few games, Jones said, "I'm not planning on that whatsoever."

Then he went on the field to hit and take infield during batting practice.

"Bobby needs to know what I can do," said Jones, referring to the importance of proving he was healthy and ready to play.

He said the 15-day DL stint was important not just for the left hamstring, but to allow his right quadriceps to heal fully. He partially tore the muscle in late June and tried to play through the injury, which lingered through July.

Jones' flirtation with .400 was one of the big stories in baseball, before he got hurt and before the Braves fell from postseason discussions.

After hitting .400 with 16 homers and 45 RBI in his first 66 games, he has hit .264 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 23 games since June 19, including .231 with two extra-base hits (doubles) in his past 12 games.

Jones still held a 17-point lead over St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols (.352) in the NL batting race before Thursday. But Pujols had a .359 average in his past 38 games, including 6-for-9 with two homers and six RBIs in his past two games.

Jones, the 1999 NL MVP, has never won a batting title and was a contender last season until the final weekend. He finished at .337, behind Colorado's Matt Holliday (.340).

This year he'll need to hold off Pujols and others, and Jones also needs at least 122 more plate appearances to reach the minimum qualifying standard of 502.

He insisted Thursday that the batting title wasn't a priority.

"I try not to think about it too much," he said. "My goals remain team-oriented. If we're in fourth place, I want to try to get to third place. If we're in third, I want to try to get to second.

"Batting titles, what do you get for those at the end of the season? Not much. A pat on the back. It's nice to have under your belt, but it's not a main concern."

Besides, Jones said, he needs to do more than keep his average up. The Braves need him to hit for power and drive in runs.

"I like to have the approach when I go up there, that I'm gonna go up there and do damage and be aggressive within the strike zone, not try to guide the ball," he said.

"If you're trying to hit .400, trying to win a batting title, you're just out there trying to get hits. And a guy in my situation needs to be doing a little more than just trying to get hits.

Soriano sees Andrews

Tim Hudson is scheduled to have ligament-transplant elbow surgery with Dr. James Andrews on Friday, but on Thursday, Andrews examined another Braves pitcher.

Closer Rafael Soriano, who has been on the DL most of the season with recurring elbow soreness, was scheduled to have another MRI on Friday, this time at Andrews' clinic in Pensacola, Fla.

The Braves had not received a report before Thursday night's game.

A previous MRI and other tests done on Soriano's elbow didn't reveal ligament damage or other structural problems. But three DL stints have frustrated the pitcher and the Braves, who are convinced something is wrong with Soriano's elbow and want to know what is is.

This time they sent him to the elbow/shoulder guru, Andrews, the renowned orthopedist.

Hudson will have season-ending surgery in Pensacola on Friday, and faces a 12-month recovery period that will sideline him for most of the 2009 season.