Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez put Gordon Beckham in the lineup on the day the infielder returned from injury and said he plans to give Beckham a chance to stay there.
Beckham was activated from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday and started at third base against the Phillies. Gonzalez said Beckham also will play at second base on some days.
“I want to play Beckham a little more here just to get him some at-bats,” Gonzalez said.
Beckham suffered a hamstring injury April 16 at the Marlins. At the time he was hitting .280 (7-for-25) with a .357 on-base percentage in 10 games, including five starts at second base.
“It was a little longer (absence) than I wanted, but when I started to run on it I could feel it was a little worse than I thought it could be,” Beckham said. “But I feel a hundred percent well now. I’d rather have that then come back and still feel it a little bit.”
There’s an opening at third base after the Braves sent Adonis Garcia to Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday. The Braves also haven’t settled on a regular second baseman, with four players starting at least five games there. Chase d’Arnuad was at second base Tuesday against Phillies left-hander Adam Morgan.
Over eight-plus seasons in the majors Beckham has played at second base (651 games), third base (195) and shortstop (13). In 875 career games entering Tuesday he hit .242 with a .305 on-base percentage.
If Beckham can become the regular third baseman, it would help to stabilize the infield after Ender Inciarte’s return from the DL over the weekend did the same for the outfield.
“Now you are starting to feel that you’ve got some sort of a (consistent) team,” Gonzalez said.
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