It was just about a week ago that Gary Thorne said, during a MASN broadcast, that Manny Machado wasn’t “doing much of anything that has to do with baseball” down in Florida, where the young phenom third baseman is rehabbing.
Those words were a punch to the gut of Birdland, as we wait with bated breath for Machado to again appear on the hot corner for the O’s.
However, while I won’t say that Thorne was mistaken, it seems that at the very least his words were at the tail end of their truth. Over the next couple days, we heard that Manny was indeed starting to perform more baseball activities, and just yesterday he was reportedly running bases without setbacks.
The Baltimore Sun’s Eduardo Encina has more:
Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, who resumed running the bases on Wednesday in Sarasota, could go on a minor league rehabilitation assignment next week if all goes well.
Running the bases – and making the lateral cuts that involves – is the final step in Machado’s rehab from offseason surgery to repair a torn patellofemoral ligament in his left knee.
During spring training, Machado was shelved when running the bases because of a calf sprain, slowing his progress. He’s been in Sarasota working his way back to this point.
Wednesday’s workout went well, with no problems, according to a club source.
Machado will continue to run the bases in Sarasota throughout the week, including getting into extended spring training games, before the club decides whether he’s ready to join a minor league affiliate.
While this by no means guarantees that a return for Machado is imminent – Encina goes on to say that Manny could be with a minor league club for up to 20 days – it’s at least music to our ears to hear that he is back on a diamond (and not just, say, running on a treadmill in a pool).
Encina also notes that Machado will likely go to one of the minor league affiliates that’s nearer to Baltimore, so Frederick, Delmarva, and Bowie are all candidates.
Seems like a great excuse to get to one of those stadiums and watch some Baby Birds play here shortly, no?
Here’s hoping that these final few weeks of Machado’s rehab go very smoothly.
photo: Craig Landefeld
