Braves fans could see the return of “El Oso Blanco” to the lineup as early as Monday, after a total of 21 days on the disabled list with a bulging thoracic disc.
Catcher Evan Gattis went down on July 1 to get an epidural for his back injury. But he is inching closer towards his return.
He served as a designated hitter in the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves' 7-0 loss to the Durham Bulls on Thursday night. He ended the game with two strikeouts in four at-bats.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzales said he spoke with Triple-A manager Brian Snitker on Friday and was pleased his report on Gattis.
“He said he looked great other than he was a little rusty,” Gonzalez said. “He could tell the timing wasn’t there but he hadn’t seen live pitching in at least two weeks…so that will come.”
The plan is to have Gattis catch for the Gwinnett Braves on Friday and Saturday for five to six innings with at least three at-bats in each game. Then he will be a designated hitter again on Sunday before a returning to the Majors. Gattis will have competed in all four games of the G-Braves’ series against the Bulls at Coolray Field.
With 10 to 12 at-bats under his belt after the four-game stint in the Minors, Gonzalez hopes to bring Gattis back up to the Majors and of the DL on Monday for the Braves’ series opener against the Miami Marlins at home.
“If he feels good then we’ll activate him on Monday,” Gonzalez said. “I’m looking forward to him coming back and then plug him in there and work him in like we had before. A couple of games off a couple of games on and that’s a big presence in our lineup.”
