Chipper Jones had one more person to convince that he was healthy enough to return to the Braves lineup. Hours before the Braves hosted the Pirates on Monday night, Jones was in the outfield going through several drills for athletic trainer Jeff Porter.
He passed the final test.
The Braves activated Jones from the disabled list and he was in the starting lineup after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on July 9. Outfielder Wilkin Ramirez was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to make room.
Jones completed a two-game rehabilitation assignment over the weekend at Class A Rome. His biggest concern was batting right-handed, which he did three times Sunday,coming up with a single, walk and sacrifice fly.
“There is some other soreness that I have to get over now,” Jones said before Monday night’s game. “From playing five innings [Sunday], the legs and the glutes are pretty sore today. Once I get over that initial coming back and playing nine soreness, I hope I have no limitations. ... I don’t foresee anything knee-related that’s going to keep me out of games.”
Jones said the last time he felt pain in the knee came while batting right-handed during workouts with Gwinnett before his rehab assignment.
Since May 1, the Braves are 32-18 when Jones has played and 14-10 when he hasn’t. They’re 6-6 since he went on the DL. The Braves also have been significantly better with Jones in the lineup over past two seasons. A year ago, they went 44-26 in the last 70 games he played through Aug. 10, and 26-23 the rest of the way without him (27-26, including the playoffs).
Manager Fredi Gonzalez was eager to have Jones back in the lineup.
"He adds a presence to the lineup," Gonzalez said. [Tuesday] you put [Brian] McCann back in there, and you should have the lineup you started out the season with for the first time in a long time."
McCann was rested on Monday night when David Ross started at catcher with Tim Hudson on the mound.
Schafer stays off DL
Jordan Schafer has a chip fracture in his left middle finger, but could be back in the lineup within a few days.
Braves officials decided not to place the center fielder on the 15-day disabled list after running Schafer through a battery of tests before Monday night’s game against Pittsburgh, and determined that he should be able to play soon.
Schafer missed his fifth consecutive start since injuring the finger when he jammed into the base while stealing second base in Colorado. He’s been limited to late-inning defense since.
“It feels a lot better,” Schafer said. "I think I’ll be good in a couple of days. ... It’s nothing really serious; it’s just a matter of getting that inflammation out of there.”
Once Jones was activated from the DL, Martin Prado moved to left field from third base. Prado had filled for Jones. There was some question as to whether McLouth or Schafer would start in center field once Prado was back in left.
McLouth played left field for four weeks while Prado recovered from a staph infection, and stayed there when Prado filled in at third.
“If Schafer was healthy he would be in the lineup today,” Gonzalez said before Monday night’s game. “Now, we are waiting to see if he could be helpful off the bench.”
Uggla’s streak extended
A scoring change from Sunday night's game at Cincinnati extended Dan Uggla's career-best hitting streak to 15 games.
Uggla reached base on what originally was ruled an error on Cincinnati's third baseman in the sixth inning. It was changed to a single on Monday by the official scorer, making Uggla 1-for-3 with a walk.
Uggla was 18-for-52 (.346) with four doubles, six homers, 11 RBIs and eight walks during his streak before Monday, raising his average from .173 to .197.
Chipper content with Braves’ everyday lineup
The trade deadline looms, and speculation is widespread on whether the Braves will make a deal perhaps for a right-handed bat or a reliever.
Jones said he sees the Braves acquiring bullpen help. He is just fine with the every-day lineup as is.
"I don't have a problem standing pat," Jones said. "I think we have a really good ballclub. Obviously any team would love an injection of new blood, especially top-notch quality. To be honest, I don't see where we are going to go out and better the ballclub every-day lineup-wise. You say what you want about the [Carlos] Beltrans and the [Hunter] Pences and the [Ryan] Ludwicks, people like that, but everybody in our lineup contributes to our success each and every day."
Ross thinks one addition could push the Braves over the top.
“We can win with this offense,” Ross said. “But in my opinion, I feel like we have a World Series championship team if we add a key piece. We have a playoff-caliber team, obviously; we’re one of the top teams in baseball. Even without that move, if we get hot at the right time we have a chance to win.
"And I think there's small holes around, with [reliever Peter] Moylan out, maybe we need something more down [in the bullpen], just another arm to help out some of those guys. Down the stretch it's going to be tight. Those guys are going to be needed even more and it's only going to be tougher.
“I feel like we have a World Series-caliber team right now, obviously. But a lot of the guys feel like, if you’re going to make a move, now’s the time.”
