ATLANTA -- The Braves reinstated pitcher Luiz Gohara from the bereavement list on Sunday after the lefty returned from an emotion-filled trip to his native Brazil.
Gohara was visiting his mother, Maria, who recently underwent heart surgery. Atlanta placed him on the bereavement list on May 25, which allowed the club to add a player from the 40-man roster to replace him at the big league level.
"It's a little hard (coming back) but I've got a job to take care of," Gohara said. "It's to come back and pitch. I was throwing bullpens and playing catch, everything I could do baseball-wise."
The past few months have been trying for Gohara, who was ranked as baseball's 50th best prospect this winter by ESPN's Keith Law. Gohara's father died unexpectedly in December. According to MLB.com, he died in the pitcher's arms as they reached a hospital in Brazil.
While Gohara will remain in touch with his family back in Brazil, he at least knows that his mother is progressing well in her recovery.
"I feel a big relief after seeing her," Gohara said. "She's doing better and everything. Now, it's like I've got one thing on my mind, and it's to concentrate and go out and pitch. I know she's doing very good down there. The doctor is going to be (communicating) with me if she's doing good, or doing worse."
Gohara arrived in spring training slated to be a member of the Braves' rotation but was beset with groin and ankle injuries. He went 1-3 with a 4.91 ERA over five starts in his big league debut last season. He didn't make his first appearance this season until May 10. He is 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA over four appearances, the first three of which came in relief. He's expected to be used out of the bullpen initially now that he's rejoined the club.
Gohara had been expected to rejoin the Braves on Friday, but his return was delayed because of the gas shortages that have plagued his native country in recent days because of a truckers strike.
"In Brazil, the city is out of gas," Gohara said. "Planes are getting canceled, flights and everything. It's been tough down there in Brazil right now. All of the gas stations are out of gas. I had to go to the airport and we didn't have gas. It made it hard for me to move to the airport. We were looking for gas everywhere."
Atlanta optioned reliever Miguel Socolovich to Triple-A Gwinnett to clear a roster spot for Gohara. Socolovich took the loss in the Braves' 5-3, 14-inning defeat against the Washington Nationals on Saturday.