DENVER – Matt Adams is a first baseman (or perhaps designated hitter) who tried to play a serviceable left field for seven of the past 11 games, but the Braves won’t ask him to do that during the four-game series against the Rockies that started Monday.
Not at Coors Field, with its vast expanses that can make an inexperienced and/or plodding outfielder look awfully bad when balls go shooting overhead in the thin air or into the gaps where they can roll to the wall in a hurry.
Danny Santana was in the Braves lineup in left field Monday and manager Brian Snitker said Lane Adams could get a start Tuesday when the Rockies pitch a left-hander, Kyle Freeland. With the Rockies starting right-handers in three of four games, Santana is likely to get most of the left-field playing time.
“It’s just a whole lot of acreage to cover out there,” Snitker said of playing Santana over Matt Adams. “Just looking (at the Coors Field dimensions), there’s a lot of room to roam out there. With Danny’s speed and everything, it’s a better fit defensively.”
It’s uncertain how much playing time Matt Adams is going to get in the immediate future, since the Braves are still aiming to activate left fielder Matt Kemp from the disabled list on Friday. He’s been out since July 29 with a strained right hamstring, his second DL stint this season for injuries to that hamstring. He also missed a few starts for a left-hamstring injury.
Kemp accompanied the Braves on the trip in order to continue working closely with a Braves physical therapist. He went through a full workout including sprints, agility drills and batting practice Saturday and Monday and will do the same workout Wednesday. Barring any setbacks, he’s likely to be activated Friday for a series opener against the Reds at SunTrust Park without going on a minor league rehab assignment.
