Arenado should take all the time he needs to get healthy

The Denver Post

In case you haven’t noticed, Nolan Arenado has a hard time sitting still. The Rockies’ perennial Gold Glove third baseman is a man of action. When he’s not in the batting cage or taking imaginary swings, he’s perfecting his footwork around the bag and conjuring up his next highlight play in his head.

But Tuesday night against the Astros, Arenado was designated to hit but not cleared to field. His sore right shoulder kept him from manning third base for the third consecutive game. There is a good chance he will be the designated hitter again Wednesday. He thinks he’ll be ready to play third base Thursday when the Rockies begin at four-game series at Atlanta.

There are, however, no guarantees. He played catch from 60 feet Tuesday to get his shoulder loose.

“It felt OK, not bad,” Arenado said. “I think it’s best to rest it today, and then we’ll see tomorrow.”

Think of Arenado’s shoulder injury as a tweak, not a chronic problem. And he’s certainly not going to let shoulder pain affect how he plays third base.

“I throw on the run, I do a bunch of different throws, so I’m going to continue to do that,” he said. “I can’t change who I am. But when the ball is hit on a routine play, I’m going to try to be a little bit more cautious now.”

It’s not easy for manager Bud Black to do without Arenado.

“It’s hard not writing his name in the lineup,” Black said. “It becomes pretty consistent to be able to do that, so to not do it the last couple of days was a little bit different. But today, we were able to do it (as a DH). We’ll see about tomorrow. Hopefully we can get him in the field.”

But I believe it would behoove the Rockies to be extra cautious this week. If Arenado’s not ready by Thursday — or Friday or Saturday — the Rockies should sit him and limit him to pinch-hit duties.

Yes, I know he’s in the thick of the National League MVP race with 29 home runs, a .306 batting average and a .973 OPS. And yes, I know how valuable he is at third base. But the Rockies have a chance to win the National League West for the first time in their history, so if playing it safe now means he’ll be 100 percent for the final six weeks of the season, by all means, play it safe.

Senzatela progresses.

Righthander Antonio Senzatela pitched a simulated game Tuesday afternoon and came out of it in fine shape, experiencing no problems with his shoulder.

“He threw the ball fine,” Black said. “No pain, no discomfort. Threw very well, we thought. So that’s a great sign, to be able to project him back on our roster at some point here. Very positive results from today with Antonio.”

When Senzatela is ready to rejoin the club, the Rockies will have a decision to make. Will he join the starting rotation, bumping right-hander Chad Bettis to the bullpen? Or will it be Senzatela who goes to the bullpen? Stay tuned.

Senzatela was placed on the 10-day disabled list Aug. 5 with right shoulder inflammation and has missed nine games.

It’s a girl.

Reliever Scott Oberg missed Tuesday’s game — for a very good reason. Oberg’s wife, Diana, gave birth to the couple’s first child Monday. Charlotte Rose was born at 3:45 p.m. MDT on Monday.

With Oberg on paternity leave, the Rockies made a roster move, recalling infielder Garrett Hampson from Triple-A Albuquerque.

Oberg is 7-0 with a 3.12 ERA this season and has emerged as an increasingly important part of the bullpen since returning from a back strain June 27.