ATLANTA -- Gone, but never forgotten by his legion of fans or the organization that raised him, Javy Lopez will return to the Braves hiding some of his mental scars with a renewed sense of enthusiasm that was only enhanced earlier this week, when he learned he'll truly have a chance to come home.

While Lopez's journey is far from complete, it at least found its intended direction on Monday, when the Braves announced that they'd signed him to a Minor League contract and would invite him to Spring Training to compete for their backup catcher role.

"I feel like I'm born again," Lopez said. "It is the opportunity of a lifetime for me to turn around and perhaps revive my career. I was living in a big cloud the last three years."

Four years have passed since Lopez said good-bye to Atlanta with a monstrous 43-homer season. His journey away from the Braves first took him to Baltimore, where early contentment would be erased by the same type of disgust that he'd later feel with both the Red Sox and Rockies.

"It's any baseball player's nightmare, what has been happening [to me]," said Lopez, who became one of the most popular Braves while playing in Atlanta from 1992-2003.

Having been dumped by the Orioles and then released by the Red Sox within the span of a month late in the 2006 season, Lopez felt he was back on course when he reported to Spring Training this year with the assumption that he'd be the Rockies' starting catcher.

But when a .375 batting average after just 16 Cactus League at-bats wasn't enough for him to a roster spot with Colorado, Lopez returned to his suburban Atlanta home knowing it would be best for him to miss the entire 2007 season. As intended, this time away from the game's daily grind allowed him to heal some of the mental wounds and fully commit himself to getting his body into top shape.

Countless hours spent with his longtime trainer Brad Pope have resulted in an impressive makeover. The initial glance at the current Lopez could cause some to feel like they've ventured into the past. Gone is that bulky, muscular frame that he carried during his final years in Atlanta.

It has been replaced by that slender, athletic build that he possessed when he first introduced himself to Braves fans nearly 15 years ago.

"I guess a lot of good things will come with good effort and hard work," Lopez said. "Once you're happy, everything else will come."

After signing with the Orioles before the start of the 2004 season, Lopez continued to be both productive and happy. But that happiness began to wane after his left hand was shattered by a foul tip in late May of the 2005 season. Feeling rushed by the organization, he returned two months later, knowing he still wasn't healthy enough to play.

With six screws and a plate in his injured hand, Lopez maintained respectable offensive production. But errant throws only added to his label as a defensive liability and likely led the Orioles to decide to sign free-agent catcher Ramon Hernandez before the start of the 2006 season.

Hernandez's arrival left Lopez without a regular job entering the final year of his contract. Promises that he'd play first base on a regular basis were regarded as false when he found himself forced to ask coaches to help him learn the position during Spring Training.

"I was so furious and frustrated [when the Orioles signed Hernandez]," Lopez said. "I was in limbo with that team. ... I wasn't happy at all."

Lopez's wish to be traded was met in early August when he was sent to Boston to serve as the Red Sox's starting catcher in place of the injured Jason Varitek. But the rust he'd developed while catching just 21 games in four months with Baltimore would be visible during the 17 games he caught before being granted his early-September release with the Red Sox.

"The frustration was pretty bad," Lopez said. "I felt lost and hopeless. ... Things went from bad to worse."

Lopez's frustrations reached an apex this past March, when the Rockies decided Chris Iannetta was prepared to serve as their starting catcher. Once again deemed expendable, Lopez used this latest disappointment as the motivational tool that has led him to devote a large portion of this year to getting back into shape and refining his mechanical skills behind the plate.

Pope has helped from the physical fitness aspect and Scott Murphy has helped keep the still-powerful swing in place. As for the defensive skills, they have been refined over the past month by Braves bench coach Chino Cadahia, who three times a week has worked on the most basic mechanics of Lopez's throwing skills.

Lopez drives more than an hour to a suburban Atlanta high school field to work with Cadahia, who has aided the development of many Braves catchers over the course of the past decade. Also providing a helping hand has been Braves Spanish broadcaster Fernando Palacios.

During Wednesday morning's throw-and-critique session, Lopez made approximately 30 throws to the second-base bag. Palacios remembers just two of those throws being pushed to the shortstop side of the bag.

"He's so excited and he looks great," Palacios said. "It's like a whole new beginning for him."

Lopez isn't fazed by the fact that his base salary, if he makes the 25-man roster, would only be $750,000. Nor is he still bothered by the nightmare of events that he's lived the past few years.

Instead, he's simply focused on the opportunity to be back home, where his kids would have the opportunity to see him play on a regular basis, and where he's always felt most comfortable.

Once considered one of the top professional sports stars in Atlanta, Lopez returns with something to prove and the ready willingness to play second fiddle to All-Star catcher Brian McCann.

"I can't wait for Spring Training," Lopez said. "I've been working so hard. I don't see why I can't make this happen."