ATLANTA AP Otis Nixon returned to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday agreeing to a one-year contract that finally gives the team a true leadoff hitter. The Braves also re-signed shortstop Ozzie Guillen to a two-year deal providing depth behind injury-plagued Walt Weiss. Weiss was the Braves' leadoff hitter most of last season inheriting the role almost by default after the team failed to re-sign Kenny Lofton. Weiss started in the All-Star game and had a .386 on-base percentage but he lacks speed only seven stolen bases and chronic leg injuries limited him to 96 games. Nixon an outfielder who played for the Braves from 1991-93 was still an effective player at age 39. This year he hit .297 for the Minnesota Twins matching his career high and was eighth in the American League with 37 stolen bases. Nixon was one of the most popular Braves during his three-year stint in Atlanta despite a 60-day suspension for cocaine use that kept him out of the 1991 postseason and the first three weeks of the '92 season. Before his suspension he set a modern franchise record with 72 steals and hit .297. He re-signed with the Braves the following season after becoming a free agent and hit .294 with 41 steals sharing playing time in center field with Deion Sanders. The Braves have a crowded outfield also signing free agent Brian Jordan last week to go with returnees Ryan Klesko Andruw Jones and Gerald Williams. Schuerholz said the signing of Nixon and the emergence of top prospect George Lombard doesn't necessarily signal another move in the outfield. Klesko would be the most likely candidate for a trade coming off a sub-par season .274 18 homers 70 RBIs and scheduled to make dlrs 17 million over the next three years. Guillen 34 joined the Braves in May after being waived by the Baltimore Orioles. He revitalized his career hitting .277 with one homer and 22 RBIs in 83 games. APW19981201.1058.txt.body.html APW19981201.1074.txt.body.html