After spending the latter part of last season with Arizona as a platoon player and projected to platoon to start this season as well, Chris Johnson has made the most of his chances to play every day.
Given Freddie Freeman’s oblique injury, Johnson has started 13 of the Braves first 16 games, nine at first base and four at third base. He was hitting .438 through Thursday, to lead the major leagues, and led the Braves with seven multi-hit games.
“(Freeman) is a big part of our team; we want him back,” Johnson said. “But it’s good to be out there every day and getting consistent at-bats. When you do that you can kind of get into a groove and get rolling.”
Freeman started a minor league rehabilitation assignment Friday with Triple-A Gwinnett in Charlotte. He was scheduled to work as a DH Friday, then play at first base in games Saturday and Sunday. If all goes well he’ll rejoin the Braves Monday in Colorado and be back in the lineup.
Juan Francisco is hitting .318 with three home runs and seven RBIs on the season, but Gonzalez might still have to think twice about sitting Johnson against righties.
“He’s getting an opportunity to play every day and he’s showing that he could do it,” Gonzalez said.
Patience with Avilan, Teheran
Luis Avilan threw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Friday and was able to do some jogging without pain in his hamstring. It was an encouraging sign for the Braves, who will continue to hold out hope he can be ready to pitch before the team leaves for Colorado. If he can’t the Braves will likely disable him so they can have as many arms available as possible at Coors Field….
Gonzalez is preaching patience with rookie Julio Teheran, who is winless with a 7.31 ERA through his first three starts but has managed to keep the Braves in each of those games. He worked out of a bases loaded jam Thursday night and left the game after five innings with it tied 4-4. They went on to win 6-4 on a pinch-hit, two-run homer by Evan Gattis.
“This is the third young starter we have,” Gonzalez said. “(Brandon) Beachy went through it and he came out of it OK, (Mike) Minor, remember last year and the first five, six, seven outings? He’ll give up a three-run homer, and all of a sudden he started getting better and better and minimizing the damage. It’s a growing thing.”…
Gonzalez said Brian McCann won’t begin catching in extended spring training until Monday, giving him several extra days to nurse a sore wrist. McCann, who just passed the sixth-month mark from his shoulder surgery, had hoped to begin catching in games there in Orlando Wednesday or Thursday.
