By Chris Brown – STL Baseball Today
Roughly three weeks after the initial ‘pop’ in his leg that sent the 250 pound left fielder crashing onto the grass at Coors Field in Denver, his former home ballpark, Matt Holliday is looking to be back in the Cardinals lineup in the near future.
After taking batting practice on multiple occasions and throwing without incident, running will be the final test for the 35-year-old veteran. “See how it goes over the next week and gradually work in some running and build it up to full speed,” Holliday told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Everything else is going really well.”
While there is no official timetable for his return, the club’s medical team has been encouraged with his progress, and around the All-Star break seems to be a likely scenario for Holliday’s return. Manager Mike Matheny told Goold he expects to see Holliday running at less than full-strength by Tuesday, and a better idea of his potential return date will likely be known after that.
J.J. Bailey of KMOV reports that Holliday is not expected to go on a rehab assignment before returning.
If elected for All-Star Game, Holliday will be in KC
Holliday also told reporters, including MLB.com‘s Jenifer Langosch, that regardless of his injury status, if elected, he will attend the All-Star Game in Kansas City on July 14 and participate in at least the peripheral activities. “I would go,” Holliday said. “I would maybe take batting practice and continue to do what I’m doing, as far as rehab goes. It’s still two weeks away, so I’m not sure where I’ll be at that point. But if I get voted in, I’ll be there.” Holliday was third in the NL All-Star Game voting among outfielders in the final voting update released on Monday.
Where other Cardinals stand in balloting update
In the update released by MLB on Monday, Holliday, Jhonny Peralta, and Matt Carpenter are in line to be the starters for the NL club at their respective positions, while Kolten Wong and Yadier Molina are in second place at their positions. See the full N.L. balloting update below (via @MLB_PR on Twitter).
Here is the latest NL voting update for the #ASG: pic.twitter.com/1R4KWnZu1E
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) June 29, 2015
Featured image used under Creative Commons by Keith Allison. No changes made. Image license.
