PHILADELPHIA — Ten weeks after he was briefly hospitalized for anxiety disorder related to a high-blood-pressure diagnosis, veteran reliever Luis Ayala rejoined the Braves on Friday.
“Finally I can say I’m healthy,” said Ayala, 38, who was activated from the disabled list and brought from Triple-A Gwinnett after the Braves optioned struggling reliever Cory Gearrin to Gwinnett after Thursday night’s game.
The Braves want to trade for at least one veteran reliever before the July 31 trade deadline, and want to see how effective Ayala can be before determining their needs.
“I want to get back to the routine, to pitch every day,” Ayala said. “It’s going to take a little time, but I’ll try to do my best. The good thing is, mentally and physically I’m healthy. I got excited today. I got the call last night to go up. I’m happy right now.”
Ayala said he was worried when he was hospitalized in Denver after feeling shaky during an April 24 game. The right-hander had been told he had high blood pressure, and was soon diagnosed with anxiety disorder. He said doctors later told him he had a bacterial infection near his stomach, which he said was why he lost eight pounds.
“At the beginning they just say anxiety disorder, but they didn’t know yet,” he said. “They found the bacteria. I was so weak. I didn’t feel any energy when I’d wake up. I finally (got healthy) taking the pills and then a good rehab. It took a long time.
“Now I come to the field with a lot of energy. Everything is back to normal. I’m so happy, because when I was sick, you’ve got bad things on your mind.”
Ayala had a total of 11 rehab appearances at Double-A Mississippi and Gwinnett, after his first rehab stint was halted until he regained strength. In seven appearances with the Braves before his illness, he had a 5.40 ERA and .286 opponents’ average, with seven strikeouts and three walks in 6-2/3 innings.
Gearrin got off to a strong start and had a 0.86 ERA and .211 opponents’ average after his first 26 appearances through May 25. But in 11 appearances since then, the rookie had a 9.90 ERA and .366 opponents’ average, allowing 15 hits, 11 runs and 10 walks with eight strikeouts in 10 innings. He gave up multiple runs in four of those games.
Gearrin had a team-worst .375 opponents’ average in close-and-late situations, where hitters were 12-for-32 against him with a .459 OBP, including three walks and two hit batters.
Gattis update: DL'd slugger Evan Gattis accompanied the Braves on the trip and ramped up his rehab activities Friday, taking more swings at balls off a tee and doing his first throwing since straining his right oblique 2-1/2 weeks ago. Gattis also ran some during his afternoon workout on the field, before the Braves took batting practice.
“Felt good,” he said. “More swings, with more intensity. It’s getting there. It’s more progress, slowly but surely.”
There is no timetable for Gattis’ return, but he will need at least a brief rehab assignment before he comes off the DL. Gonzalez said he didn’t know if it’d be possible for Gattis to return before the July 15-18 All-Star break, and said the Braves wanted to take every precaution to avoid having him return too quickly and aggravate the injury.
