DENVER -- With a little luck, by the middle of their upcoming series with the Rangers, the Braves will be disbanding a committee that has won few fans and fewer games.

Before Monday's makeup game in Denver, manager Bobby Cox announced that left-handed reliever Mike Gonzalez will be joining the Braves in Texas on Tuesday and will be activated from the disabled list on Wednesday.

Gonzalez has been on the DL since last May, having had Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery at the end of that month. He has been closing games for Triple-A Richmond, and Cox is hopeful that Gonzalez can fill the void at the back of the bullpen, eliminating the closer-by-committee approach that has produced 11 saves all season from six different relievers.

"Yes, absolutely," Cox said when asked if he considered Gonzalez closer material, indicating he may introduce him in a less pressure-packed situation before giving him a shot in the late innings. "We may put him in a game just to see. We'll play it by ear."

In a rehabilitation assignment of nine Minor League games, including five at Triple-A, Gonzalez has posted a 0.82 ERA over 11 innings, going 1-0 with a save, walking one and striking out 12.

"He's throwing good," Cox said. "Hopefully we can count on him for the very end, eighth and ninth. If he's back to his old form, it's a huge plus."

The 30-year-old left-hander, a veteran of five big league seasons, has 30 saves in his career, including 23 with Pittsburgh in 2006. He was off to a solid start for the Braves in 2007, going 2-0 with two saves and a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings spanning 18 games before his season-ending surgery.

Although Cox has downplayed the absence of one dependable closer throughout the season, a consistent anchor in the late innings could help reverse trends such as the club's 3-18 record in one-run games this season.

"It hasn't been that bad," Cox said of the closer-by-committee approach. "We've blown some games, but we've got good pitchers out there."

Cox may not be in a hurry to identify one go-to guy for the ninth inning, staving off the heightened anticipation and pressure of putting the late innings in the hands of a single closer.

"Sometimes you get bogged down in that, too," Cox said of the occasional pitfall of an overly rigid approach to relief roles. "It can go both ways. But yeah, [if we had someone like] Mariano Rivera, it'd be nice."

Cox nevertheless acknowledged that ultimately, the consistency of pitchers knowing the role that is expected of them is a worthy benefit that can only strengthen an otherwise solid bullpen.

Although 2006 was Gonzalez's only chance at getting regular work as a big league closer, he has a streak of converting 30 consecutive save opportunities dating back to August of 2004.

"Mike thrives on it," Cox said of the late-inning intensity that Gonzalez has relished when given the opportunity to close out games.

It is an opportunity Cox will revisit soon, after the reliever's reunion on the road with the Braves this week.