ATLANTA -- The Braves activated infielder Omar Infante from the disabled list to start on Thursday and placed catcher Brayan Pena on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained back.
Infante, acquired in an offseason trade with the Chicago Cubs, was in Thursday's starting lineup against San Diego as the starting second baseman and leadoff hitter.
Infante opened the season on the DL with a broken right hand and was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs for Triple-A Richmond on Wednesday. In three games during an injury rehabilitation assignment with Richmond, Infante hit .364 (4-for-11) while playing in center field.
The Braves acquired Infante with reliever Will Ohman for reliever Jose Ascanio in December, less than a month after the Cubs obtained Infante from Detroit. Infante played second base, shortstop, third base and in the outfield and hit .271 in 166 at-bats for Detroit in 2007.
"We've got some real good versatility on the bench now," Braves manager Bobby Cox.
The move with Pena was made retroactive to Monday. Pena was unavailable to play or pinch hit the last three days due to the sore back and wasn't at Turner Field for Wednesday night's game, according to Cox.