Johnny Estrada activated from 15-day DL, Brayan Pena optioned to Richmond
Going into Monday Brian McCann had started an amazing 14 consecutive games (that kind of thing may happen from time to time on other teams but I know it hardly ever happens on Bobby Cox’s Braves teams). With Brayan Pena’s suspect defensive skills, and inability to hit at the major league level thus far, McCann got the call these past 2 weeks. It took a toll on him, however, at the plate. His average dropped 29 points to .284 during that span. Johnny Estrada is now returning from the disabled list to spell McCann part of the time and Pena will be sent to Triple-A Richmond once again. Estrada’s back, injured from a collision with Darin Erstad, June 6th hasn’t improved much while he has been sidelined and is still limiting him at the plate (especially when batting from the left side) and in the field (blocking the plate for example). Unfortunately, I think this move was made due to McCann’s overwork and Pena’s inadequacy rather than Estrada’s readiness. The juggling act at catcher may very well continue up until the end of the regular season if Estrada continues to be hampered significantly by his back injuries.
