Could Nick Markakis Be Ready To Join Atlanta Braves Lineup Soon?

The Atlanta Braves hosted the Detroit Tigers at Champion Stadium in Lake Buena Vista, Florida on Saturday afternoon…the outcome, well it wasn’t pleasant for the Braves.  Tigers offense showed up early and often as they defeated the Braves 12-6.

Shelby Miller, who was acquired by the Braves from St. Louis for Jason Heyward, started the game for the Braves but didn’t last long.  He went 0.1 innings giving up four runs, three hits and two walks.

Miller said after the game about his performance “I’m not really worried about the outcome.  Am I frustrated by it?  Yeah.  But at the same time, it’s still the first game of Spring Training.”

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The Braves offense wasn’t that impressive either…Atlanta totaled nine hits on the day but only from six players and five hits came from guys who came into the game.

,

and

all had two hits each.

Four days and five games behind us, we’ve seen some good things and bad things from our offense.

But, Christmas may be coming early and a jump start could be on it’s way.

Reported by Braves beat writer, Mark Bowman, Nick Markakis could be approximately two weeks away from playing in a Spring Training game.

Markakis coming off offseason neck surgery, is trying to recover and looks to join the Braves after signing as a free agent on December 3, 2014.  Atlanta signed Markakis for a four-year contact for $44 million.

On Friday and Saturday, Markakis took some swings off the tee and began throwing with his new Braves teammates.

“I didn’t feel any discomfort,” Markakis said after he did these light activities.  “I felt normal.  There were no issues.  I actually felt normal hitting.”

This is actually great news to hear because this surgery usually takes many months for recovery and could see some setbacks.  The Braves already told the media many times that he has no timetable for a return and will not push him to hit the field.

“I’ve still got some time left, so there is no rush,” the 31-year-old said.  “I’ll be fine with a week’s worth of at-bats.”

Markakis will not only bring a bat to the lineup, he’ll also bring his Gold Glove talents to our outfield.

Two weeks will put us at March 20th, leaving 14 games left in Spring Training.  To get Markakis back for Opening Day would be tremendous but only if he’s fully healthy and ready to go.