Braves will deploy Harris at DH, keep him from outfield amid quad soreness

ATLANTA – The Braves discussed putting Michael Harris II on the injured list. But as long as his bothersome left quad muscle doesn’t get any worse, the plan is for the center fielder to serve as the team’s designated hitter over the next week.

“We're going to be communicating with Michael every day, and if that thing starts to take a turn for the worse, obviously, we’ll [put him on the injured list],” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “But it feels good enough right now to go out there and take at-bats.”

Harris tweaked his left quad while going to second base on a double against the Nationals on April 23. The 2022 National League Rookie of the Year was scratched from the lineup the next night, but he later delivered a pinch-hit, game-winning double. He served as the designated hitter for the next two games, but played center field in the first two games of this week’s Tigers series before simply pinch-hitting in the ninth inning of Thursday afternoon’s 5-2 series finale loss.

Weiss hopes Harris remains available to serve as the DH during a majority of the nine-game road trip that begins Friday against the Rockies. The Braves will also play three-game series against the Mariners and Dodgers before coming home.

“It’s easier to control the effort level on the offensive side than it is on the defensive side,” Weiss said. “You saw him [Wednesday night] running down balls in the gap. You're really rolling the dice there.”

Harris encountered some tough luck to begin this season, but he has hit .407 with five home runs and a 1.182 OPS over his past 17 games, going back to April 10.

Eli White and Mauricio Dubon are the top candidates to play center field until Harris is ready to resume playing defensively.