Returns from DL might be best moves yet

0 Comments | USA TODAY, July, 2008 | by Mel Antonen

Baseball's non-waiver trade deadline is Thursday, but a team's best move for the final two months could be activating an injured player.

DH David Ortiz is expected to return to the Boston Red Sox tonight against the New York Yankees. Fellow All-Star Alfonso Soriano returned to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday after a 34-game absence because of a broken hand.

"Our hope is that David can be himself at the plate," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. "He's swung hard and driven the ball, so that's a good sign. We need his presence if we are going to get where we want to go."

Ortiz, out since May31 with a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist, hit three home runs in six minor league games. "I'm not 100%, but I'm close," Ortiz told reporters before his...