Maddon says he won't rush Longoria
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09/05/2008 8:15 PM ET
TORONTO -- Although Evan Longoria said his fractured right wrist is feeling better, Rays manager Joe Maddon insists the team will not rush the third baseman back from the disabled list.
Longoria still is on schedule to swing a broomstick on Saturday, and if everything goes well, he will take some swings with an actual bat.
"I'm pretty hopeful," Longoria said on Friday prior to the Rays' game against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. "My wrist feels great after taking four days off [from swinging]."
Longoria had been doing some light swinging with a wiffle bat and a broomstick before deciding to give his wrist a break from activity. His recent optimism comes from a meeting he had with a team doctor at Tropicana Field on Thursday.
"I guess the most recent visit to the doctor's office was a good one," said Maddon. "[Longoria] felt encouraged by what the doctor said and saw. And so we'll try to move this along a little bit at a time."
"We just have to continue to be patient," Maddon added. "We're not going to rush through anything. We want to make sure that he's well. [Saturday will be] a significant first step."
Maddon still does not have a clear idea of when Longoria will return, but he did say that before the 22-year-old can rejoin the Tampa Bay lineup, he will have to go through a regular session of batting practice and not have pain, as opposed to soreness, in his wrist the following day.
"If it's sore, that's good," said Maddon. "That means it's getting better. If you get pain, that's something entirely different. That's when you kind of shut somebody down. If it's just that natural soreness indicating that something is getting stronger, that would be encouraging. So we'll find out."
Longoria, who owns a .971 fielding percentage, currently is running, throwing and taking ground balls on a regular basis in order to stay in game shape. Maddon said the third baseman should have no problems with his defense when he returns.
Longoria fractured a bone in his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch from Seattle right-hander J.J. Putz on Aug. 7. In 104 games for Tampa Bay this year, the rookie is hitting .278 with 22 home runs and 71 RBIs.
By David Singh / MLB.com |
