San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Meyers’ return date from rehab not set
Astros manager Dusty Baker on Saturday made no assurances that outfielder Jake Meyers will rejoin the Astros when the clock on his minor league rehab assignment expires next week.
In 10 rehab games for Class AAA Sugar Land, Meyers batted .229 and made eight starts in center field with two starts as designated hitter. On June 15, the Astros transferred Meyers to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on their 40-man roster for Dillon Thomas ,an outfielder Houston claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels. The move afforded the Astros sorely needed position player depth and did not alter Meyers’ rehab clock.
Position players can spend only 20 days on a minor league rehab assignment. Meyers played his first game with the Space Cowboys on June 3.
Baker said the Astros might option Meyers to Sugar Land once his clock is up if the club’s minor league staff determines he needs more time to fully recover from offseason shoulder surgery.
“I’d rather have him overready than under-ready,” Baker said Saturday. “Your body doesn’t know anything about time. So we’ll just see. He was way behind to start, and you see how long it took some of our guys to get their stroke. So when that time comes we’ll assess it.”
Odorizzi passes latest test with mound stint
Astros starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi took another step in his recovery from an ankle injury on Saturday when he threw from the game mound at
Minute Maid Park with hitters in the batter’s box for the first time.
As they had for Lance McCullers Jr. a day earlier, Jeremy Peña and J.J. Matijevic stood in the batter’s box but did not swing while Odorizzi threw 35 pitches. Odorizzi said he treated Saturday like an “overly aggressive bullpen,” putting forth more effort than a normal
bullpen but less than a game.
“Well, I expected it to go well,” he said. “The arm hasn’t really been the issue this whole time. It’s just been the mobility. And we’ve got to the point now where things are progressing really well, and today after watching Lance do it yesterday, I thought it was a good idea to see some hitters just like he did and get my sights sighted back
in. And it went really well.”
Baker said Odorizzi will probably throw another bullpen on Tuesday, this time with hitters putting balls in play to test how Odorizzi reacts.
“He looks pretty good,” Baker said. “I’m not worried about his stuff and arm as much as we’re concerned about his ankle.”
Odorizzi said he feels ready
to pitch a minor-league rehab game, though the Astros have not yet set a date for that. He has fielded his position and done agility work in the field, but has yet to run at full speed since the Astros put him on the injured list May 17 with strained tendons in his left ankle.