Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez heard the news on his way home Friday night. The Phillies had acquired All-Star outfielder Hunter Pence, whom the Braves had also pursued heavily.
“They got a pretty good player,” Gonzalez said Saturday, less than 24 hours before baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline. “There is no question about it. They’ve made themselves a pretty good team. That’s a good piece to add in that lineup.”
Braves players are well aware of what the Phillies, who lead the National League East, have done.
“They’ve made every move you can make in order to try to go for it,” second baseman Dan Uggla said. “They got Cliff Lee in the offseason. They got Hunter Pence now. They’ve got unbelievable depth if somebody goes down. They’ve been picking each other up all year long.
“They’re a good team, but we are, too. And there’s a lot of other good teams that are going to make the playoffs, too.”
Gonzalez knows general manager Frank Wren is trying to bring the Braves help for the stretch run and is kept abreast of possibilities. The team needs outfield help and was in talks with Houston about speedy center fielder/leadoff man Michael Bourn on Saturday.
Before center fielder Nate McLouth went on the disabled list Friday with an abdominal strain, the Braves were more focused on corner outfielders who bat right-handed, either frontline players led by Pence or lesser bats who might be used in some sort of platoon arrangement.
With Jordan Schafer and McLouth on the disabled list, the Braves recalled Jose Constanza from Triple-A Gwinnett and started him in center and at leadoff Friday and Saturday in his first two major league games.
Moylan to throw Sunday
A little more than 10 weeks removed from back surgery, reliever Peter Moylan is ready to throw off a bullpen mound.
He is scheduled to throw 15 pitches Sunday at about 50 percent effort.
“Knowing myself I think it’ll probably be 15 pitches at 80 percent,” Moylan said with a smile. “I’ll tell them it’s 50.”
He says that, but Moylan acknowledged the Braves have kept him tempered throughout his recovery from May 17 herniated disc surgery. And now he’s nearing the target recovery range of 12 weeks feeling good.
“I feel really strong,” said Moylan, who has been playing catch for the past two weeks. I haven’t felt my back the whole time. It hasn’t even been a thought. Plus all the [core] work I’ve been doing, I think it’s paid off.”
Moylan will spend the next couple of weeks building arm strength and eventually head out on a minor league rehabilitation assignment. Gonzalez said again Saturday he thought Moylan could return by the end of August or the first week of September.
Etc.
Chipper Jones was out of the lineup again Saturday, still battling a strained right quadricep. Jones has been available to pinch-hit, but likely won’t play Sunday. He is 0-for-3 as a pinch-hitter since returning from the disabled list after knee surgery and then suffered the strain in his first game back. ... Gonzalez said that McLouth had a “mild” issue with a lower abdominal strain that landed him on the 15-day disabled list Friday for much of the season. The manager said McLouth has been playing with the issue since “the second or third day of the season,” but it wasn’t something the outfielder had to battle through. McLouth landed on the disabled list after aggravating the issue on a throw. ... Catcher J.C. Boscan will start Sunday’s series finale against the Marlins. David Ross, who has caught every inning since Brian McCann suffered a strained left oblique Tuesday, will get a day off, according to Gonzalez.
Staff writer David O’Brien contributed to this article.
