Right-hander Kyle McClellan throws for the first time in six weeks – MLB News
The St. Louis Cardinals’ right-hander Kyle McClellan is expected to make his return by August as his strained elbow is gradually recovering. The pitcher on Tuesday, July 3, threw for the first time in almost six weeks when he was reduced to the disabled list.
Tuesday’s session saw the pitcher make 40 throws and play catch at a distance of 60 feet. That by a player who has been suffering from a strained elbow could engage in a seemingly rigorous exercise shows he can make his comeback soon.
The pitcher, speaking to the reporters after the first day of a four-week throwing program, stated that he is feeling better now. In fact, he went on to the extent to say that he felt much better than he had thought of.
Kyle commented that he was happy with the session. "When it's that short, it's easy to kind of cut it off," McClellan said. "So in order to do that, you have to kind of throw a little harder, and I was perfectly happy with it."
But before he makes his appearance, the pitcher is expected to go through different set of exercises to assess his real fitness. From a couple of weeks of long toss to bullpen sessions and then the batting session, McClellan has a lot in the list in order to regain his fitness and form.
McClellan is completely aware of the challenges he is confronting. His composure and determination to become an active part of the roster serve as evidence of the player’s professionalism.
"The throwing process, the way it was explained to me, is important, because it's still a healing process," he said. "You're throwing, and the body is sending stuff to heal to the elbow. It's not like you can just skip over and push through. It's still a part of the building-up phase.”
The team manager Mike Matheny was also pleased with the result of first day’s practising session that McClellan had. He will definitely want an early return of the player so as to strenghten and empower the defence, enabling the team to go with more confidence against rival teams.
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