ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Braves activated outfielder Ender Inciarte off the disabled list following Friday night's 7-2 loss to Arizona at Turner Field, and optioned Adonis Garcia to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Inciarte, who was originally signed by Arizona as a free agent on May 25, 2008, and came to Atlanta in the five-player trade in December involving Shelby Miller, had been on the DL since April 10 with a strained left hamstring, suffered the previous day against St. Louis. He was 2-for-3 with a walk on Friday night in his final rehab game with Gwinnett.
The Braves hope to get a similar spark at the top of the order from the 25-year-old speedster.
"That's going to be huge. He's a pest up at the top of the order," said first baseman Freddie Freeman. "Nick [Markakis] filled in very nicely for him. Maybe we can move him down and get him in some RBI situations. Get Ender back, Erick [Aybar]'s been swinging the bat great so hopefully some things start coming together for us."
Manager Fredi Gonzalez said he'll meet with his staff Saturday morning to assess how to set the outfield defensively with Inciarte and rookie blazer Mallex Smith.
Garcia, who had an RBI single in the sixth inning on Friday, but also looked shaky defensively in the second and third innings when the Diamondbacks built a 3-0 lead, will play every day in left field, to improve his defense.
"He's going to play outfield every day, left field," said Gonzalez. "I told him, 'You'll be back up here before we know it.'"