Marlins get Hechavarria back from disabled list

PHILADELPHIA -- Shortstop once again is solidified for the Marlins.

Adeiny Hechavarria was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday, the first day he was eligible to return. The 24-year-old had been out since April 17 with a bruised right elbow.

"It's good to have Hech back," manager Mike Redmond said. "We all felt lucky that it was only a couple of weeks on the DL, and we're getting him back. He's a big part of our defense."

Along with Hechavarria, the team also selected the contract of Matt Diaz from Triple-A New Orleans. The club designated infielder Nick Green for assignment and optioned lefty Brad Hand to New Orleans.

Hechavarria is a promising talent, who played in a couple of rehab-assignment games with Class A Jupiter before being activated.

"We'll get him back in there, back in the flow, and get him going," Redmond said.

The question is how much will he hit. At the time he was sidelined, Hechavarria was batting .184 (9-for-49) in 14 games.

"He's a guy who is a great defender," Redmond said. "You could just tell he was gaining more and more experience with every at-bat. We'll get him going again, and we hope this will be the last bump for him and he can grind it out for the rest of the season."