How about some good news Diamondback fans!
During Manager Chip Hale’s pre game press conference with the media on Tuesday, while after being asked about the status of David Peralta, Chris Owings and Socrates Brito, he brought up 2015 All-Star A.J. Pollock without being asked.
“A.J. Pollock is looking good,” stated Hale. “There’s a little update for ya. He was hitting off the flips yesterday. Ken Crenshaw looked at me, the trainers are always the most conservative guys and Ken looked at me and said ‘Chip, you are going to be amazed.’ So we are very excited.”
Pollock has not seen game action since breaking his elbow just days before Opening Day and has been working his way back. Some felt his 2016 season would be done without playing a single inning but as the season has unfolded, Pollock has made more and more strides to refute that notion.
“He feels good,” mentioned Hale. “We will have to tempe it a little bit to make sure he doesn’t get out of hand.”
“The doctors are making sure that we are very careful,” he added. “But you watch him out there in the outfield and he is running around shagging balls. I think he is very excited about how he feels.”
So some good news there as the Diamondbacks are just trying to come above water based on their health on the roster. Hale expects Peralta and Owings to be ready to play by early next week with Brito soon after and starting pitcher Rubby de la Rosa has made some good strides as well. When Pollock is ready for game action, Hale mentioned he would most likely go through the equivalent of a spring training worth of games before getting the call up.
Jared Cohen
