After suffering an oblique strain during the road trip in Anaheim, Braves outfielder Nate McLouth is close to resuming some baseball related activities and is hopeful that he will be ready once he is eligible to come off of the disabled list on June 7.
McLouth would likely head to the minors for a rehab stint before rejoining the active roster.
"The way that I feel and the way it’s gotten a little bit better each day," said McLouth, who isn’t going to push it either. "I’m going to be really careful not to overextend myself and hurt it any more, while I’m on my way back. I just want it to be good and be done and forget about it."
Atlanta replaced McLouth with Jordan Schafer in center field. In five games at the lead off spot, Schafer is 6 for 21 (.286) with three walks and a .400 OBP. Before he was hurt, McLouth was hitting .238 with 3 HR and 11 RBI's. McLouth has a .332 OBP.
As long as Schafer is playing well, then there is little reason for the Braves to rush McLouth. If Schafer continues to play well then it could force the Braves into a tough decision about how to divide up playing time in the outfield.
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