After completing bullpen sessions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Busch Stadium this past week, the comeback trail for Zach Duke has moved to extended Spring Training in Florida.
“It’s kind of been in the plan,” Duke explained. “If everything kept progressing the way it has, first of June head down to Florida and start facing hitters. My whole thing is, I don’t want to get too anxious or try to move too fast because something could pop up at anytime and I’d need to take a break. But it has happened yet.”
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As he noted, the recovery from Tommy John surgery in October of last year has gone well, so much so that the St. Louis Cardinals lefty is shooting for a late July, early August return.
“I feel like I can maybe take the next step in intensity,” said Duke of his upcoming workouts. “Hopefully, the hitters will let me know how the ball’s coming out of my hand. I’m encouraged, catchers who have been catching me say it looks pretty good.”
Besides the change in venue, it will also be different without his rehab partner Alex Reyes alongside.
“We’re trying to focus on the moment right now–that’s focusing on our work, getting right,” said Duke. “I think once he starts the throwing program and I get back here, then we’ll start talking a little more baseball. What I found out, when you’re in the middle of this rehab grind, you have to keep your mind focused on that because you start thinking about pitching and all that, you realize how far out you are and how much of a leap it is to be thinking about that. You can push yourself too far, and try to do too much early on which is not good because you’ll set yourself back.”
For now, Duke is ready for that next push–although there are still a lot of steps left in the process.
“I won’t be in extended games, I’ll be doing live batting practice,” said Duke. “There’s basically a month of live batting practice sessions. I’m starting out only fastballs, then we add in the other pitches as the weeks go on. It’s a long process.”
But it’s a process with that goal of late July or August return shining brightly.
MARTINEZ OFFICIALLY BEGINS ASSIGNMENT
–Meanwhile, Jose Martinez officially got his rehab assignment underway with by scoring a pair of runs to go with a double and two walks for Palm Beach (A) on Satuday. The outfielder had spent the last few days in extended Spring Training getting work in to prepare for the game action. Martinez played first base, but is also expected to see time in both left and right field.
photo credit: Bill Greenblatt/UPI, Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
