Chris Johnson Returning To The Atlanta Braves Lineup Soon Barring Any Setbacks

On April 30, 2015 the Atlanta Braves placed third baseman Chris Johnson on the disabled list with a left hand fracture after sliding awkwardly into second base on a steal attempt.

Apr 30, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cincinnati Reds second baseman Skip Schumaker (55) tags out Atlanta Braves Chris Johnson (23) at second base on a stolen base attempt in the fifth inning of their game at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Prior to the injury, Johnson was hitting .279/.347/.372 with four doubles, five runs and five RBIs in the 16 games he played in.

His replacement?  Alberto Callaspo.  He’s been batting horrible and holds a .206 batting average.  The Braves have tried Pedro Ciriaco, but unfortunately he isn’t hitting well either.

Atlanta currently sits one game above .500 with a 22-21 record and as a team, they are hitting well right now.  They are ranked 13th in the MLB in batting average (.253), and 12th in OBP (.319).  A return of Johnson’s bat could be very helpful.

Sunday, Johnson told reports that he plans on returning by the end of this week.

“I’m going to play [Monday] in Gwinnett and we’ll go from there,” Johnson said.  “I’ve been missing the guys, missing the games.  Staying in the hotel down in Orlando, it’s hard because I only get the games on TV.  It’s going to be a lot of fun today to hang out and watch the game, and just be a part of the team.”

Johnson will probably do a three-game rehab assignment with the Gwinnett Braves and then hopefully joining the Braves on Thursday in San Francisco.

The 30-year-old told reporters that his session in the cages went well and he wasn’t experiencing any kind of lingering pains.

On Monday, he was indeed in the Gwinnett lineup batting third.  In his first at-bat Johnson lied out to center field.  The game was delayed because of rain.  Once continued, we’ll update his stats.