The Braves are hoping outfielder Ender Inciarte’s return from injury can spark their anemic offense.
“It will be huge,” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “He’s a pest up at the top of the order. Nick (Markakis) filled in very nicely for him and maybe we can move him down and get him into RBI situations. Get Ender back, and Erick (Aybar’s) been swinging the bat and hopefully some things start to come together for us.”
The Braves will activate Inciarte from the 15-day disabled on Saturday and option utility man Adonis Garcia to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Inciarte went on the DL after suffering a strained left hamstring during the third game of the season. He was the everyday center fielder and lead-off hitter at the time of his injury.
Inciarte is a good defender and his return adds a proven hitter to a lineup that desperately needs a jolt. In two seasons and 250 games with the Diamondbacks Inciarte hit .292 with a .329 on-base percentage and had 40 stolen bases on 53 attempts.
Garcia tied for second on the team with 10 home runs in just 198 plate appearances during his rookie season in 2015. He has one of the Braves’ six home runs this season but has cooled off since hitting .306 with a .375 on-base percentage over his first 20 games.
Garcia also struggled defensively while trying to make the transition to playing third base.
“He’s going to play left field every day (at Gwinnett),” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “I think he will be back up here before we know it.”
