Braves outfielder Ender Inciarte and reliever Chris Martin are continuing to progress during their rehab assignments at Triple-A Gwinnett.
Inciarte, working his way back from a hamstring strain, hasn’t played for the Braves since April 17. He has appeared in two minor-league games this week, going 2-for-5 with two doubles.
“He’s getting some hits,” manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s starting to play. He’s playing center field, throwing a hit in every night it seems like. He’s not playing full games yet, but he is participating and hopefully everything holds up for him.”
The Braves haven’t set a timetable for Inciarte’s return. He was playing well before his injury and is 5-for-17 (.294) on the season. Inciarte could give the Braves insurance if they decide again to send Cristian Pache back to Triple-A. Pache, a brilliant defender who’s struggled at the plate, is 2-for-18 since returning from the injured list May 1. He doesn’t have a hit in his past four games.
Martin, meanwhile, recorded two outs in his first game back a few days ago. He’s scheduled to pitch again Saturday, and if the outing goes accordingly, Martin could return in the coming week. He would help a bullpen that’s been shuffling pitchers in and out to find any reliability.
“He’s feeling really good,” Snitker said. “His reports on himself is that he feels really good. So we’ll wait and talk to him tomorrow to see where he’s at (before deciding when to activate him).”
