Veteran infielder Pablo Sandoval is back on the active roster after a short stint on the Braves’ restricted list for what he said was “something positive.”
Sandoval, 34, was taken off the restricted list Thursday, a day before a three-game series in Miami to close the first half of the 2021 season.
“I feel good, happy and enjoying life. I’m happy to still be playing in the big leagues,” Sandoval said Friday. “There’s nothing bad, nothing serious. It’s something positive.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker lamented Tuesday that he wished there was another name for the restricted list.
“When you say ‘restricted list,’ you think the worst,” Snitker said Tuesday. “But that’s just where they house those guys. They have to put them somewhere, so we can bring somebody up. I think that term should be altered.”
Regardless of the term, Sandoval is in Miami with the Braves and will be looking to return to the form he was in when the season started. He was a spark off the bench for the Braves almost immediately. In the season opener against Philadelphia, Sandoval hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to tie the score at 2-2.
But Sandoval, who is batting .203 this season largely in a pinch-hitter role, has cooled down, striking out 21 times in 64 at-bats with only four home runs. In the past 30 games, he has just four hits and is batting .129 with a .250 on-base percentage.
“It’s a situation where you always have to be ready,” Sandoval said of his pinch-hitting. “I started the season hot, started great, but it’s been tough.”
As one of the oldest players on the Braves’ roster, the three-time World Series champ has been helping the younger guys in the clubhouse, coaching them and keeping their heads straight. Especially Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies, two guys that Sandoval sees some of himself in.
“Everything is going to come their way,” Sandoval said. “I tell them to keep doing what they’re doing. They’re special, young talents.”
In a corresponding move, the Braves optioned righthander Jacob Webb to Triple-A Gwinnett. Webb pitched two innings in Wednesday’s 14-3 win against Pittsburgh, striking out one and giving up two hits.
Sandoval and the Braves will look to win all three games against the Marlins to move above .500 as the All-Star break comes next week.
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