ST. LOUIS – The Cincinnati Reds’ top pitcher and best hitter both appear to be ahead of schedule in rehab work to get back from the injured list.
Whether either can make it back in time to make a major difference for a swooning playoff hopeful, Elly De La Cruz, for one, has been spotted regularly taking his glove with him before games as if he’s playing.
“When I came in (Friday) he had his glove on. I think he was throwing the ball against the wall or something,” said manager Terry Francona, whose All-Star shortstop has been aggressive with upper body work and such baseball activities as taking grounders from his knees since landing on the IL with a hamstring injury a week ago.
De La Cruz hasn’t pushed the hamstring aggressively in supervised running yet, but he’s shown enough progress that his scheduled followup MRI has been moved up from June 15 to June 12, at which point the medical staff is to determine how much he can ramp up activity.
De La Cruz was diagnosed with a strain that Francona characterized as between Grade 1 and 2 in severity.
Meanwhile, ace Hunter Greene, who has bone chips removed from his elbow in March, is expected to progress in his throwing program to facing hitters early in the week after several bullpen sessions over the past two weeks.
Barring a setback, he would do that again later in the week, a progression that Francona said could mean a return from the IL during the first homestand in July.
“Hunter looks really good. He looked really healthy,” said Francona, who got an up-close look when Greene joined the team during the recent homestand for a bullpen session. “I think he feels that way, too, because the schedule got altered a little bit where he could maybe make some starts hopefully before the All-Star break, which is definitely on the early end of the schedule that we’ve set out.”
The Reds’ roster has been hammered by injuries since entering May in first place in the National League Central.
They’ve dropped to last place since then, including six losses in eight games through Friday, losing closer Emilio Pagán (hamstring) in early May, then leverage relievers Graham Ashcraft (elbow) and Pierce Johnson (elbow) on back-to-back days during a late-May flurry of injuries that also included De La Cruz’s hamstring.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Hunter Greene, Elly De La Cruz appear ahead of schedule in rehab for Reds
Reporting by Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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By Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
