Philadelphia Phillies Carlos Ruiz Activated From DL

Despite the fact that he has played in just 16 games this season, the return of Carlos Ruiz to the Philadelphia Phillies lineup has been long-awaited, and on Tuesday, it will become reality.

Ruiz was activated from the 15-day DL (where he was placed on May 21st) on Tuesday afternoon, and it appears as if his hamstring injury has healed to the liking of the Philadelphia front office. Before the injury, Ruiz’s production had dipped from his incredible 2012 pace (where he had a .944 OPS and 5.2 WAR) to just a .235/.286/.275 slash line in 56 plate appearances.

Obviously, this constitutes a very small sample size, but with Ruiz’s 25-game suspension for amphetamines also on his record, there is some concern that the “breakout” form that he exhibited in 2012 won’t be returning. On the positive side, it looked for all the world as if Ruiz would miss additional time after Charlie Manuel was quoted as saying that he’d miss “four or five” more days on Sunday, so his Tuesday night return could be a blessing.

With Philly struggling to a 34-37 record and with injuries to both Roy Halladay and Chase Utley, they could really use the 2012 version of Carlos Ruiz. Within a few days and weeks, it will be apparent whether that player is going to return in full form.