DUNEDIN, Fla. — A week removed from undergoing surgery to remove 60 percent of the meniscus in his left knee, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Michael Saunders says he’s progressing quickly and is still hoping to be ready for Opening Day (Apr. 6) in New York.
“I feel great. I haven’t felt anything bad throughout this entire process,” Saunders said Friday morning before heading off to play catch with Blue Jays head trainer George Poulis. “The training staff’s doing a good job. We’re pushing each other. And we’re doing it smart. I never thought this would be the case, but I haven’t felt any pain whatsoever.”
Saunders played catch for the first time since the injury on Thursday, throwing from 80-90 feet, and was hoping to get into the batting cages to take some swings off a tee sometime over the weekend. Once he feels comfortable hitting, Saunders will move on to running. The final step after that will be clearing him to play in games. He’s scheduled to visit with his doctor on Sunday to test his knee’s progression.
“I haven’t had any problems or anything that has hindered me from progressing in this, so I’m really encouraged. My knee is responding really well,” Saunders said. “When we played catch yesterday I felt great. I was putting something on it. I was finishing my throws. I was following through and putting some weight overtop my knee.”
Saunders receives an hour of treatment on the knee everyday, and spends an additional hour in the gym doing stability and strengthening exercises.
He’s also been standing in the batter’s box as Blue Jays’ pitchers throw their bullpen sessions, going through his load process and tracking the path of the ball without swinging. The idea is to limit any rust Saunders might build up during his recovery, and keep his eyes accustomed to seeing live pitching. He’s stood in with Aaron Sanchez, Kyle Drabek, Marco Estrada and Drew Hutchison so far.
“I’m getting to see some pretty good arms. It’s been really beneficial for me. I don’t want to go into my first at-bat without even seeing a pitch yet,” Saunders said. “I’m just trying to stay ahead of the game and do what I can to make sure I’m ready to go as early as possible.”
