Stephen Drew Could Return to the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday
Stephen Drew has missed almost a year at this point. His recovery and rehab took longer than everyone expected. It took so long in fact that Ken Kendrick, the Diamondbacks owner, recently ripped Drew for not making more of an effort to return to the DBacks lineup. It looks like Drew will be doing exactly that though in less than a week.
According to an interview GM Kevin Towers gave on Arizona Sports 620, the team expects Drew to rejoin them on Wednesday in Atlanta.
"“We talked about maybe having him play a game or two in Mobile since we’re on the East Coast, I think our trainer was going to talk to him about that,” Towers said. “And then hopefully activate him on Wednesday.”"
While no one thinks Drew will be a bad addition to the club, he may not be the piece the Diamondbacks need most. Shortstops for the Diamondbacks this year have included Willie Bloomquist and John McDonald for the most part. Bloomquist is hitting .288/.318/.392. McDonald is hitting .280/.322/.512. Compare that with Drew’s career line of .270/.330/.442 and the DBacks have filled Drew’s void pretty well.
Drew fractured his right ankle on July 20, 2011. It was a gruesome injury, and at the time it was clear the recovery would take a long time. No one thought it would take quite this long. Buster Posey who suffered a similarly gruesome injury last season returned much sooner than Drew.
The Diamondbacks are one game under .500 and 7.5 games back of the first-place Dodgers. However, they are not out of it in the West by any stretch. Drew’s return could provided a boost to the clubhouse and on the field. The Dodgers were just swept by the A’s giving Arizona an opportunity to gain some ground.
Stephen Drew’s return has been long-anticipated by the fans and his teammates alike. He’s a quiet, humble player and a fan-favorite. Expect to see him in uniform on Wednesday, but he may not be starting just yet.
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