TAMPA -- Two days after a horrific on-field incident left Luis Salazar with multiple facial fractures and a damaged eye, the Braves minor league manager's condition improved and he was looking forward to getting back to work.
That was the update Friday from Braves general manager Frank Wren, who said Salazar was scheduled to have a second surgery on his left eye this weekend that could determine the extent of the most worrisome of his injuries.
Salazar, 54, was struck by a foul ball off the bat of Braves catcher Brian McCann during a Grapefruit League game Wednesday.
“He’s doing much better,” Wren said Friday before the Braves’ game against the New York Yankees. “He’s visiting with his family and eager to get back to work. They are still evaluating the eye and are going to do another surgery this weekend.”
Salazar is in his first year in the Braves organization. He was serving as a coach on the spring-training staff and preparing to manage this season at high-Class A Lynchburg, Va.
He was standing behind the dugout railing with other coaches and players when struck by the first-inning foul ball, which knocked him out immediately. Salazar fell and landed face-first on the dugout floor, causing even more damage.
Salazar's wife, Graciela, son, Carlos, and daughter, Viviana, are with him at Orlando Regional Medical Center, along with son-in-law Franklin Gutierrez, a center fielder for the Seattle Mariners. Gutierrez left spring training in Arizona to be with the family.
Schafer has big day
On Friday, center fielder Jordan Schafer reminded everyone what he can do when healthy. He had a home run, a bunt single and a diving catch against the Yankees.
It was the best day of the spring so far for Schafer, who was slowed for the past two seasons by a fractured hand that required surgery. The hand is completely healed now, he said.
“I feel extremely good,” said Schafer, who was hitting .182 with one extra-base hit (a double) and one RBI in 33 at-bats before Friday. “Even in the ballgames where I went 0-for, I’ve hit balls hard -- right at people."
He started three of four games in center since Nate McLouth injured his right shoulder Monday. McLouth had a cortisone shot Wednesday and is expected to play Saturday.
The center-field job is McLouth’s to lose, and he was having a great spring before the injury. McLouth has hit .457 (7-for-15) with two doubles, a homer and a .636 on-base percentage.
“I didn’t want Nate to get hurt,” Schafer said. “I want him to do well. I just want to play and go out and show what I can do.
“We need Nate to do well to be a good team. I’m rooting for him as much as anyone is. For us to be the best team we can be, we need both of us to play well.”
Schafer's two-out solo homer off Phil Hughes in the second inning put the Braves ahead 2-1, and he showed his speed while beating out a bunt single in the fourth inning.
Prado looks ready
Martin Prado had another two-hit game Friday, and the All-Star second baseman-turned-left fielder ranks among Grapefruit League leaders with a .364 average and four doubles in 33 at-bats. Only Schafer (37) has more at-bats among Braves.
Prado has had two hits three times in his past four games and has played defense like someone who has manned the outfield for his entire career.
He shows no lingering effects from the hip pointer and pulled oblique muscle that ended his season a week before the division series last year and required more than a month of complete rest.
Hanson, relievers shine
Tommy Hanson and four Braves relievers limited the Yankees to six hits, including Jorge Posada's leadoff homer in the second inning. Hanson was charged with five hits and one run in four innings, with no walks and one strikeout, and lowered his spring ERA to 1.00.
Eric O'Flaherty was scheduled to pitch Friday, but the Braves decided to push the left-hander back to Saturday and used Anthony Varvaro on Friday. Varvaro pitched a perfect ninth.
Rookie closer Craig Kimbrel gave up a leadoff walk and a passed ball to start the eighth inning, then got a strikeout and two groundouts to get out unscathed.
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