One day after undergoing LASIK eye surgery, Dan Uggla said he’s already seen considerable improvement. Uggla said his eyes were checked in a follow-up visit Saturday, and he tested out with 20/15 vision. Because of recent problems with astigmatism, he had been at about 20/30 or 20/35.
“That tells me right there that it went good,” Uggla said. “There are some things that are going to be cloudy or whatever at times. But over the next three, four, five days it should settle in.”
Uggla was planning to hit off the tee in the indoor cages Saturday afternoon and watch the game in the Braves dugout. Doctors don’t want him to risk getting dirt or particles in his eyes for the next couple of days, but they’ve told him he can start taking batting practice when the Braves travel to play the Mets in New York on Tuesday.
Uggla will likely go out on a minor league rehabilitation assignment toward the end of his 15-day disabled list stint. He’s hopeful he can return right around Aug. 28 when he’s eligible.
The surgery performed by Dr. Alan Kozarsky took about 15 minutes for both eyes. Uggla said he felt some discomfort on his ride home but after sleeping a few hours, he woke up pain-free.
“I feel like I could play today,” Uggla said. “Who knows if I’d be effective or not, but that’s how good I feel like I’m seeing right now.”
Uggla is hitting a career-low .186 this season, though he’s second on the team with 21 home runs and is tied for the Braves lead in walks with 62.
“Hopefully they fixed my swing when I was under,” he joked.
Notable
Shortstop Andrelton Simmons on the highlight play Paul Janish made behind second base on a Wilson Ramos groundball in the ninth inning of the Braves’ 3-2 win over the Nationals: “That’s a 10 in my book. That ball, I don’t get how he got to it in the first place and then get rid of it…. I don’t even know how he threw it because I couldn’t see his face. You should have seen it from my angle.”…
Left-hander Paul Maholm pitched 5 2/3 inings, allowing one earned run, in a minor league rehabilitation assignment for Single-A Rome on Saturday night. He gave up four hits, no walks and struck out six. The Braves will wait to see how his left wrist responds before deciding whether to insert him back into the rotation soon or send him out for a second rehab start…
The Braves have released infielder Blake DeWitt. DeWitt last appeared in a game since April 19 in Pittsburgh and spent the better part of the four months since battling back problems. They moved Cristhian Martinez from the 15-day to the 60-day DL to make room for Phil Gosselin on the 40-man roster.
