Correa dials back spring prep after back problem in 2018
would take more than 200 swings and lift weights every day during spring training in years past.
After a season when he missed six weeks with a back injury that lingered for the rest of the year, he has altered his preparations. Houston's shortstop has vastly cut back on everything from swings to how many sprints he runs in hopes that taking it a bit easier in February and March will lead to better health in September and October.
“I overworked during spring training and it showed up midseason with all the other workload,” Correa said. “Obviously my back getting hurt, it came from all that work. It was way too much. This year I've laid off a little bit of some of
Carlos Correa
the things I did last year and I'm trying to work smarter.”
That means limiting his swings to no more than 30 at a time and about 85 in a day and cutting his weightlifting to three times a week.
“I'm still working hard, it's just not like I did back then,” he said. “It's just being smart about it.” focus this spring.
“I felt like I needed to come in prepared, more ready to go with a better arsenal,” Hicks said.
“Closers, they normally have pretty dirty secondary pitches.”
Hicks threw seven of baseball's 10 fastest pitches last season, when 659 of his offerings were clocked at 100 mph or higher.
He only reached 102 mph Thursday in his spring debut, but that was plenty fast enough to keep Mets hitters off balance when the high-80s slider seemingly lumbered toward and dove away from the plate.
“He's already an amazing weapon,” St. Louis manager said.
If he could master the slider?
“Then he would be a
Mike Shildt
force,” Shildt said.
Hicks earned six saves as a rookie last season, but Shildt isn't in a hurry to anoint the 22-year-old righty the Cardinals' closer.
In one of the offseason's higher-profile, freeagent moves St. Louis signed to a two-year, $25 million contract.
Wire reports