Before his rehab assignment, the Braves sent Michael Harris II down to Florida to face live pitching at their spring training complex.
He got there, only for Tropical Storm Debby to be arriving soon. So he flew back.
On Tuesday, Harris began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett, which played in Memphis. Harris went 1-for-4 with a walk as the Stripers’ designated hitter.
“Hopefully everything goes well there (so) he can come back when his time’s up,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said before the Braves’ 10-0 loss to the Brewers on Tuesday.
Snitker said the plan is for Harris to be the designated hitter for a couple games, then play the outfield.
If all goes well, Snikter thinks Harris could meet the team on its next road trip. “Hopefully that’s the case,” he said. Harris is eligible to come off the 60-day injured list on Aug. 14.
Toward the end of July, Harris was asked about that return date and whether it seemed like a possibility.
“I think it lines up perfectly,” Harris said of that timeline. “Just be able to get all my stuff in and be able to get some rehab games in, it would be two months. Yeah, just getting the proper care of training back to doing baseball stuff and getting back in games. I feel like that’s a good timeline.”
The Braves have endured a ton of injuries this season, but getting Harris back is a nice start to inching closer to full strength. Ozzie Albies (fractured wrist) could return in early September.
Harris has been out since the middle of June after suffering a hamstring strain during the series against the Rays. Since then, Jarred Kelenic has played center field.
When Harris returns, Atlanta will once again have its everyday center fielder, which should make its outfield deeper. And Harris is one more bat that can try to help the Braves get going. They’ve received little production from their outfielders since Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his ACL.
At this point, all signs point to Harris returning soon to help Atlanta get rolling in these final two months.
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