Ruben Amaro Jr. hopeful about Chase Utley full season presence in 2013-MLB Update
General Manager for the Philadelphia Phillies, Ruben Amaro Jr. is impressed by the training that Chase Utley went through during the offseason.
He is fairly hopeful that Utley can play throughout the 2013 season as opposed to missing a great number of games as he did in the previous year.
Utley is one of those hitters that remained absent from the Phillie line-up for a large part of last season. His knee problem did not allow him to be ready and play for the team as a permanent member.
Without Utley and the first baseman Ryan Howard, the Phillies struggled immensely with regard to offence last season.
Many believe one of the reasons why the Phillies were so poor during the season was the absence of these two hitters.
They substantiate their claim by citing incredible contributions made by them for the club over the last few years.
Howard and Utley were a part and parcel of the tremendous success that the Phillies achieved in the National League East for the last five years until 2012.
Now as the Phillies have lost their dominance in the Division, because the Washington Nationals title win in 2012, it is a great challenge for both of these players to help the club restore hegemony in 2013.
As far as Utley is concerned, he appeared to have recovered completely from the injury. GM Amaro is looking forward to see him perform consistently in the upcoming season.
“He’s done very well this offseason,” Amaro said. “He’s taking groundballs pretty much every other day. He didn’t take a whole lot of time off. I think we’ve all learned, including Chase, that it probably behooves him to continue to work and be able to do
things to keep his joints going, keep his knees going. He’s actually done very well.”
Amaro has stated that Utley is aware of the challenges ahead and how to meet them successfully.
However, he plans to watch Utley closely during Spring Training before the cub makes any decision about how he will be used for the rest of the year.
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