Dodgers activate Rafael Furcal, place Juan Uribe on disabled list

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With his broken left thumb now healed, Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal was activated Sunday and was back in his familiar lead-off position in the lineup as the Dodgers prepared to play the White Sox in Chicago.

At the same time, the Dodgers placed infielder Juan Uribe on the 15-day disabled list. Uribe, 32, strained his left hip flexor muscle on a fielding play Friday.

The season wasn’t yet two weeks old when Furcal, 33, the team’s highest paid player with a salary of $12 million, broke his thumb while sliding in a game against the San Francisco Giants.

‘I’m glad to be back,’ Furcal said in the Dodgers clubhouse at U.S. Cellular Field before Sunday’s game. ‘I’m ready.’

As for Uribe, ‘I think we’re expecting him back in 15 [days]’ and not longer, Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said.

The Dodgers’ regular third baseman, Casey Blake, also is on the disabled list after having surgery for a staph infection on his left elbow. He’s hoping to return to the lineup within a week or so after playing some rehabilitation games with triple-A Albuquerque.

-- Jim Peltz in Chicago