Marlins notebook: Yelich hopes to return from DL to play vs. Pirates
MIAMI -- Miami Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich hopes to come off the disabled list for Tuesday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Yelich, on the DL retroactive Aug. 10 with a right knee contusion, planned on shagging flyballs for the first time on Monday -- the last test in seeing whether he is ready to return.
"I tried to stay off it running as much as possible because that's what was bothering it," Yelich said. "I just couldn't do it. I didn't have the range of motion. It wasn't the pain thing. It wouldn't bend when I needed it to bend or run."
The 23-year-old Gold Glover injured his knee while scaling the wall at Turner Field trying to rob Jonny Gomes of a homer. Earlier in the season he spent a month om the DL with a lower back strain.
At the time of the injury, Yelich was batting .275 with 15 doubles, one triple, six homers and 29 RBI in 92 games. Since May 23, he has posted a .309 average after entering that date at .178.
If Yelich does get reinstated the first day he is eligible to do so, it would be without any rehab assignments.
"It's one of those things going good and then you get hurt," Yelich said. "It's been one of those kind of years. You got to bounce back as best you can and try to build on it. I think I'll be alright coming off the DL. I'm not worried about not feeling well or losing a swing. I've been able to swing pretty much throughout this whole thing. It's just been running that's been tough. I think my swing will be alright. Once you get back to game action we'll see. I'm just more concerned about the knee being healthy, which I think it is. It's pretty close."
CAPPS UPDATE
If setup man Carter Capps had his way, he'd be back with the ballclub for Monday's opener against the Pirates. As it stands after two bullpens, Capps continues to work back from a right elbow strain that has kept him out since Aug. 3.
"Just trying to get the arm healthy and be able to throw like I have been all year," Capps said. "Right now I don't feel anything on the slider. Long toss has been great. A little discomfort still on some of the fastballs once I'm up on the mound. I think just the incline. Other than that, hopefully just a few more days and that'll go away."
Capps, who is 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA in 30 appearances, doesn't know what his minor-league rehab outings would entail.
"I feel pretty good," Capps said. "My bullpens are still throwing the ball down in the zone and throwing a lot of strikes. I'm not really worried at all about that. Just mainly being able to go out there and not having reservations when I'm facing batters. Obviously the adrenaline's going, you're trying to do a little more than you do in a bullpen session. You've got that added stress."
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
