MIAMI — Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez has been cleared to start throwing Oct. 1.
The 2013 National League Rookie of the Year had season-ending Tommy John surgery May 16. He met with Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles on Thursday.
“A lot of good news came out of that in going up there and seeing him so I’m really excited,” Fernandez said Friday. “I’m feeling great. I’m feeling like I didn’t have the surgery so I think that’s good news.”
There is not a timetable for Fernandez’s return to game action.
“We are going really week-by-week,” Fernandez said. “That was the goal since surgery. … If it’s Opening Day, great. If it’s September next year, great. It will depend on how I feel.”
However, the 22-year-old pitcher did say he would like for his return to be at Marlins Park where he is 9-0 with a 1.19 ERA in 15 career starts.
“Whatever day it is, hopefully I would love for it to be a home game,” Fernandez said.
He plans on throwing either at 30 or 45 feet for three to four minutes during the Oct. 1 throwing session, but does not anticipate expediting the process for a return.
“I’ve got to be really smart about how I’m going to approach this and be really careful because I don’t want to come back for three months, I want to come back for 13, 14 more years that I want to play in the Big Leagues,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez is 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA in 28 career starts. He has 187 strikeout in 172 2-3 innings.
