Cole Hamels, who has been side lined with fatigue in his left shoulder throughout much of the first half of Spring Training, threw a 20-pitch bullpen session on Wednesday morning. It was his first time throwing from a mound since March 1, before his minor setback.
Though the bullpen went well, and pitching coach Bob McLure said Hamels looked “free and easy” according to Jim Salisbury, he also acknowledged that Hamels is quite behind.
Todd Zolecki reported that Hamels said this 20-pitch session is something that he would normally do the day before Spring Training starts, with McLure adding that Hamels is essentially starting from scratch.
Zolecki also reported that from here on, Hamels’ regimen will depend on how he feels. As of now, he is scheduled for another bullpen on Friday or Saturday but it depends how his arm is feeling on Thursday. If all goes well, McLure said he might be able to go right into throwing batting practice after that, according to Zolecki. He also added that there is a chance he could pitch in a Grapefruit League game this month, but that the chance of him pitching in a big-league game in April is “remote.”
Other injury news: Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez has a sore shoulder, and will not pitch today as scheduled. According to Ryan Lawrence of The Daily News, the soreness was brought about by long toss yesterday and is in the anterior part of the shoulder. In the same report, Ruben Amaro said Gonzalez was checked by the medical staff, and stressed that it is just soreness. Amaro also said that Gonzalez will be pushed back, and that “Hopefully it is only a day or so.”
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