We’ll have to wait until he’s better.” José Abreu rests, but will be right back hitting cleanupĪbreu had started each of the Astros’ first 36 games and distinguished himself as one of the poorest everyday players in the sport. “The timetable doesn’t always match your body table. “We don’t want to rush him, like we’ve always said,” Baker said. It also must invite serious wonder how much Brantley can realistically play once he is activated - and whether he can be relied upon for the type of workload many anticipated when he re-signed. Sending Brantley for further testing on Wednesday only reinforced what this has been all along: a setback for the steadying presence this lineup desperately needs. The manager resisted calling the news a “setback,” perhaps out of nothing more than protecting a veteran player with a lengthy injury history. Perhaps a scenario exists where Brantley is activated on Saturday when his minor league rehab assignment clock expires, but he also hasn’t swung a bat since playing with Sugar Land on May 6.īaker’s revelation on Tuesday that Brantley had stopped swinging became a first sign that something seemed amiss. Baker said the team is “planning” on Brantley traveling to Chicago for this weekend’s three-game series against the White Sox. Without input from Brantley or the medical professionals treating him, it’s impossible to forecast the next steps. “Michael might have overdone it some, so maybe that’s why he didn’t bounce back as quickly.” He was trying to get ready,” Baker said on Wednesday. Then, he came here, took a couple bad swings. The Astros’ clubhouse had closed to reporters when Baker made his comments, so McCormick was not immediately available for comment. Baker revealed on Wednesday he is suffering from a recurrence of back soreness. He played in six games and took 17 at-bats during his minor league rehab assignment at Double-A Corpus Christi, after which he proclaimed himself “100 percent.” McCormick started in center field during Monday’s 5-3 loss against the Angels and hasn’t played since. The Astros even exposed him to first base toward the end of his stint, risking a collision with a baserunner or other scenarios not associated with either designated hitter or left field. He played nine games, took 37 plate appearances and finished 6-for-24 during his stint with Sugar Land, during which Baker said Brantley never complained of any lingering soreness in his shoulder. Position players are allowed to remain on assignment for a maximum of 20 days, meaning Brantley’s clock will expire on Saturday. Meyers struck out 54 times in 150 major-league at-bats upon his return and earned a demotion to Triple A.īrantley’s minor league rehab assignment began April 23. Meyers played 14 games at Triple-A Sugar Land before the Astros brought him back to the big leagues, a decision Baker still bemoans nearly a year after the fact. Brantley, coincidentally, underwent the same surgery as Meyers, but on his right shoulder. Former general manager James Click promised a “review” of it last season, when the team rushed outfielder Jake Meyers back from his minor league rehab assignment and watched him spiral in the wake of left shoulder surgery. The team has refused to make its head trainer, Jeremiah Randall, available for interviews and a team spokesman made Brantley off-limits to reporters during his two days in Anaheim.īrantley’s setback, coupled with another apparent issue with Chas McCormick, again calls into question the Astros’ return-to-play procedure. No one with the club felt compelled to clarify which city or state was harboring one of their offensive cornerstones. Manager Dusty Baker acknowledged Brantley departed the team “to go get checked out and to make sure nothing’s wrong” after he felt “more sore than usual” in his surgically-repaired right shoulder.Ĭonventional wisdom suggested Brantley traveled back to Houston and saw team doctors, but Baker said he did not know that for a fact. The veteran outfielder and clubhouse cornerstone joined the Astros for the series’ first two games, sporting his normal stone-faced facade and an occasional wide smile.īefore the third, Brantley’s whereabouts remained unknown. Most within the Astros’ organization believed Brantley would return from his 11-month absence during this three-game series with the Angels.
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