Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado Closer to Taking the Field
By Nate Wardle
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Baltimore Orioles’ got some welcome news on Thursday from Dr. Neal ElAttrache. ElAttrache, Manny Machado’s doctor, lifted all restrictions on the Orioles’ star third basemen.
Manny had been doing limited work for the past several days as scar tissue broke up around his knee. However, Stephania Bell of ESPN, who reported Manny being cleared, says that he is also dealing with minor calf and hamstring strains.
Manny is now able to start building up his movement and conditioning to the point where he can appear in games. This comes 10 days before Opening Day is set to start.
At this point, I think Manny playing on Opening Day is still unlikely. Maybe he could play as the DH. However, I think the best course of action is start him on the DL.
The cold weather gripping the Northeast through the rest of March certainly would not be a help in his recovery. Let him fully rehab and be ready to go on April 15.
Give those starts to Ryan Flaherty or Alex Gonzalez as Manny recovers. This will allow a roster spot to be open for another player. Maybe you keep Jonathan Schoop in the majors and let him play second base for those 15 games as an audition. If he shows he can hit against major league pitching in those 15 days, let him keep starting.
The Orioles have a lot of flexibility as they move forward, with a lot of players worthy of being in the majors. It is certainly a great problem to have.
I think Manny should get to fully recover, as Buck keeps saying, the last thing the team wants is a setback.