ATLANTA -- As he stood on the top step of the visiting dugout at Turner Field prior to Friday night's exhibition game, Andy Marte had a contented look on his face, one that was absent the last time he played here.

That was back in 2005, when, as a 21-year-old, he wore a Braves uniform after being called up from Triple-A Richmond to try to take the place of injured Chipper Jones. In 33 games, Marte struggled, hitting .140 and striking out 13 times in 57 at-bats.

But time heals all wounds.

"I was talking to some of the guys," Marte said with a smile. "This field was my first big league game. It feels good to be back."

It feels even better to be back knowing he's a part of Cleveland's 25-man roster.

Marte will primarily serve as the backup to Casey Blake at third base.

Now before questioning the wisdom of promoting Marte based solely on the .208 batting average he carried into the final two games of Spring Training, consider that his 11 hits have accounted for 28 total bases (tied with Asdrubal Cabrera for second on the club), he has a team-high-tying five home runs and drove in 13 runs (second on the team).

That productivity has hitting coach Derek Shelton convinced that Marte, although still a work in progress, definitely has been making progress.

"When he gets the right pitches, we've seen him impact the ball hard," said Shelton. "What he's done in the past is he's strayed from those hitting zones, and when you stray from the hitting zone -- when any hitter strays from the hitting zone -- it's hard to hit. So we need to make sure that he's really disciplined. Discipline is probably the key word for him."

Playing time probably will be at a premium, but Indians manager Eric Wedge believes Marte's ability to play both corner positions will be advantageous to earning some action.

"We'll see Andy mixed in at third base when we give Casey a day off," said Wedge. "He's a guy who's mixed in a little bit at first base for us as well, and we want to be as versatile as we can be. I think we'd be comfortable putting him [at first] if we needed him over there. With Casey and [Ryan] Garko and Victor [Martinez], I don't see it happening a great deal, but I can see a late-inning situation where, depending how we utilize the bench, we may need him."

What Marte, a career .201 hitter with 60 strikeouts versus 22 walks in 94 Major League games, doesn't need is pressure to perform offensively.

Shelton believes that won't be a problem.

"When he does get in [the lineup], he's probably going to hit near the bottom of it -- just because our top five or six are set," he said. "It's a good situation for him because he's going to be put in a lineup that he's not relied on to do anything. We're just asking him to have good at-bats, quality at-bats, and kind of build off that."

That's welcome relief for Marte, who was ranked as the Braves' top prospect by Baseball America in 2005 and the Red Sox's top prospect in the same publication in 2006. He is simply happy to be in Cleveland.

"I want to say thank you to the Indians for giving me the opportunity again to prove that I can play here. I just have to put up numbers," Marte said. "The key is to be more patient, see better pitches and I'll be OK. I tried to come to Spring Training in better shape. I did a lot of extra work with my hitting and my defense. I've seen some success, but I think I can do better this year."

Added Wedge: "Hopefully now that he knows he's on the team, he'll relax a little bit and he'll just go out and play."