Braves third baseman Adonis Garcia is on track to play two rehabilitation games before returning from the disabled list Friday. At that point, the team will have to make some decisions about its lineup and its bench.
Garcia was the everyday third baseman when he went to the DL on May 16 with left Achilles tendinitis. Rookie Rio Ruiz has started five of eight games there since, with Jace Peterson getting two starts (Johan Camargo, since sent back to Triple-A Gwinnett, has one).
The Braves could platoon Ruiz (who bats lefty) and Garcia (righty) at third base, an arrangement that would likely mean designating Emilio Bonifacio for assignment. They could send Ruiz back to Gwinnett and keep Bonifacio who, unlike Ruiz, also plays the outfield.
Or the Braves could drop a pitcher from their eight-man bullpen and carry four bench players instead of three.
“We could go that route, too, for a while if we need that position again,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We could. We will just have to wait and see. We’ve got a couple more days to kind of (figure) that out.”
In his second season as the team’s full-time third baseman, Garcia is hitting .237 with a .278 on-base percentage and .348 slugging percentage. Entering Tuesday, Ruiz was 3-for-12 (.250) with .400 OBP and one home run.
