ST. LOUIS—It turned out Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman needed to play in just one minor-league rehabilitation game before he was ready to rejoin the team.
The Braves activated Freeman from the 15-day disabled list on Saturday after he’d been out since June 17 with a right wrist injury. Freeman arrived at Busch Stadium in the second inning and entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh.
“Obviously it’s a little earlier than I expected but that’s me pushing it,” Freeman said. “Hand doesn’t hurt at all. I thought after yesterday’s game I got through it with no pain and see if we could push the envelope, and here I am.”
The Braves desperately need Freeman’s offensive production. The two-time All-Star leads the team in home runs (12) and slugging percentage (.520). The Braves’ runs per game dipped to 2.8 in the 30 games without Freeman after they’d scored 4.0 runs per game in 76 games with him in the lineup.
Freeman’s teammates had eagerly anticipated his return to the lineup as the offense sputtered without him. His bat gained even more importance when the Braves traded veterans Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson to the Mets on Friday.
“Any time you can add that type of person back into your club it’s always a boost,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
Freeman’s recovery from the injury initially went slowly as an injection likely caused inflammation. Freeman eventually had fluid drained from his hand and hit baseballs on Monday for the first time since the injury.
When Freeman left for his rehabilitation assignment on Wednesday the plan was for him to rejoin the Braves on Thursday in Philadelphia. There was talk of moving his arrival up to Monday in Baltimore as he continued to make progress. Then Freeman went 2-for-4 with a home run on Friday for the Braves’ affiliate in the Gulf Coast League.
The GCL club’s scheduled game on Saturday was rained out and Freeman convinced the Braves to let him return to the big-league club.
“It’s no pain,” Freeman said. “That was the biggest thing for me. I was telling them I was good, I’m healthy, let’s just get me in St. Louis. They talked it over and they said yes. As long as I’m healthy, I will get the timing down. That should come quickly hopefully.”
Freeman flew out to left field against Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez in the seventh inning. He was on deck when A.J. Pierzynski grounded into a double play to end the game.
“I feel good,” he said. “I saw the pitches well. I saw the first-pitch change-up and didn’t jump at it. I was able to see the heater and I barely missed it.”
To make room on the roster for Freeman, the Braves optioned Joey Terdoslavich to Triple-A Gwinnett.
