Recovering veterans Smith, Peralta eager to get going
MESA, Ariz. — First baseman Dominic Smith was ramping up for spring training while going through free agency last month. In his first live batting practice, he took a swing, then couldn’t grip the bat anymore.
An MRI exam showed a displacement of the hamate bone in his right hand.
‘‘At that point, I had to get the surgery,’’ Smith said in a conversation Monday with the Sun-Times. ‘‘I could wait and let it heal, but the recovery process would be the same length and I would still have a chance of breaking it again. So I think the smartest thing to do was to have the surgery to get it taken out. And now I don’t have to worry about breaking that bone again.’’
The Cubs signed Smith and outfielder David Peralta to minor-league deals with invitations to major-league camp last week. They’re both veteran left-handed hitters who had surgery this offseason.
‘‘Who doesn’t want to play for the Cubs?’’ Peralta said Monday. ‘‘I’ve been watching this team and playing against this team for a long time. And the way to do stuff, that winning mentality, especially the great group of guys they have right now, I want to be part of that.’’
Peralta said he had been dealing with an injury to his left forearm since around the All-Star break of last season. He went from slashing .283/.323/.434 in the first half of the season to .231/.259/.319 in the second half.
‘‘I’m a team player, and I’m not going to go down that easy,’’ Peralta said. ‘‘So I’m going to do the best I can to be out there to help my teammates . ... When you’re hurt, it’s hard to perform the way you want to. But now that I’m healthy, it’s going to be different for me. It’s going to be better.’’
He expects to be cleared to serve as a designated hitter around March 10. Smith also is hoping to play soon. ‘‘Everybody I’ve talked to who has had this type of surgery all recovered between four to six weeks,’’ Smith said.
He’s at about Week 5. Hitting on the field and off a machine will be the next tests before he progresses to live batting practice. Smith said he expects he’ll need between one and three live BP sessions to get his timing back before jumping into game action.
‘‘I don’t think it’s too far off,’’ he said. ‘‘I think hopefully next week I’m out there. So we’ll see how it goes. I’ve just got to take it one day at a time and keep working.’’
That swing in January pushed Smith to get the surgery, but he said his wrist had been bothering him since 2017.
‘‘Being able to swing pain-free — it’s been a long time, so I can’t wait,’’ he said.
Cody Bellinger’s return will make the outfield and first-base groups more crowded, but Smith and Peralta spoke glowingly about it.
‘‘I’ve been knowing ‘Belli’ since high school,’’ Smith said. ‘‘So to finally play on a team with him, it’s going to be extremely fun. And I know what he meant to this ballclub last year; I know what he meant to the city. So to get a guy of that caliber back here means a lot.
‘‘And it gives us just that extra bit of hunger, confidence, and just that extra bit of fire to go out there and perform and play hard and win ballgames.’’