The Philadelphia Phillies have activated second baseman Chase Utley from the disabled list, according to the team. Utley has been on the DL since injuring his right oblique during batting practice on May 20. The team has sent Michael Martinez down to Lehigh Valley to make room for Utley.
Chase Utley activated from DL by Phillies
The Phillies have activated their longtime second baseman from the disabled list after he missed a month with an oblique injury.
Hunter Martin
The 34-year-old Utley was hitting .272 with seven home runs and 25 RBI in 44 games before going on the shelf for the past month. 2013 will be the fourth straight season in which Utley has missed significant time due to injury, and he hasn’t played more than 115 games in a season since 2009. He went hitless in nine plate appearances with Double-A Reading, but the objective was to get him comfortable swinging the bat, not necessarily to put up numbers against minor leaguers. Plus, Phillies’ second basemen hit just .174/.244/.183 with one extra-base hit in his absence, so Utley should clear that bar even if he’s rusty.
Utley returns to a Phillies team in third place in the National League East, 7.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves. They host the New York Mets on Friday night.
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