Yoenis Cespedes Injury Update

Yoenis Cespedes was placed on the Oakland Athletics disabled list this weekend with a strained left hand.  Yesterday, A’s manager Bob Melvin updated reporters, including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, telling them that Cespedes has been making steady progress and has been cleared to resume all baseball activity except swinging a bat.  Cespedes is eligible to return from the A’s DL early next week.

The A’s initially listed Cespedes as day-to-day after an MRI determined that the Cuban slugger had sustained a strain in his left hand.  While Cespedes was confident he wouldn’t be required to miss much time due to the injury, Oakland ultimately decided to send their center fielder to the DL to allow the strain to fully recover.

Now, as expected, Cespedes is on pace to return from the A’s disabled list when eligible early next week.  Cespedes has been cleared to do everything other than swing a bat, an act that had caused the rookie discomfort that resulted in his stint on the DL.  Cespedes is expected to continue his progression to where he can eventually hit off a tee and then take normal batting practice once again.

Cespedes was fairly impressive over the start of his rookie campaign.  During Cespedes’s first 28 games spanning 106 at-bats, the 26-year-old posted a line of .245/.319/.434 with 10 extra base hits, 21 RBIs and four stolen bases.

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