The Philadelphia Phillies activated shortstop Didi Gregorius from the injured list on Friday, adding to the team’s reinforcements.
Gregorius, who was out almost two months with an elbow injury, was in the lineup and hitting seventh for Friday’s game against Chris Paddack and the San Diego Padres.
In a corresponding move, Philadelphia sent infielder Nick Maton to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Gregorius suffered the injury while making a catch and landing hard in an April 16 home game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
After experiencing further swelling and discomfort, the diagnosis was pseudogout, a form of arthritis.
In 32 games this season, Gregorius owns a slash line of .229/.266/.364 with four home runs and 22 RBIs. He was 9-19 during his rehab stint at Lehigh Valley.
Last season, Gregorius hit .284 with 10 homers and 40 RBIs over only 60 games, but the team is hopeful he can rediscover his sound glovework.
“I thought Didi’s defense improved a lot once we got by those first three weeks,” manager Joe Girardi told reporters on Wednesday.
“I will use (Ronald) Torreyes. We’ll have to manage Didi when he comes back. It’s not like I’m going to run him out there seven days in a row.”
Gregorius, 31, is a career .264 hitter with 124 home runs and 479 RBIs over 10 years spent with the Cincinnati Reds (2012), Arizona Diamondbacks (2013-14), New York Yankees (2015-19) and Phillies.
–Field Level Media