Black believing in Yasmani Grandal's early return

Of course, Yasmani Grandal believes he’ll make a speedy return from last year’s devastating knee injury. Players are supposed to say those things.

Manager Bud Black, however, added a measure of credibility to Grandal’s Opening Day target after watching his catcher work through drills on Wednesday ahead of the start of spring training.

It’s still a lofty goal, to be sure, but Black certainly believes in it more today than he did when Grandal announced his intentions shortly after a surgery that was supposed to wipe out a good portion of the 2014 season.

“Watching him (Wednesday) doing some agility drills on the field, we’re really encouraged about how he’s moving and what he’s doing on the field,” Black said. “You talk to the doctors, you talk to the therapists, you talk to the strength guys, they are really – I don’t want to say amazed – but they are extremely happy with his progression.”


(utsandiego.com)