With the recent optimism from Trevor Rosenthal that he could be back to pitching in as soon as seven months after his Tommy John surgery, a look at the calendar shows that today marks seven months since fellow St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes had his own ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction.
“It feels good,” Reyes said last week. “I’ve been playing catch at 90-110 feet, so I feel from now it’s just kind of a progression with the training staff and what we have set up for the future.”
The arm is feeling so good that Reyes has reached the point where at times he has to remind himself to not get ahead of things and stick to the plan.
“It’s one of those things where you just kind of gradually ease it into and yeah, there’s definitely some throws where I felt good but you’ve got to back off given the fact it’s reconstructive surgery,” he said. “But, it’s been a long road and I’m excited for what’s to come.”
Thus far, Reyes has strictly played catch and has not been on a mound.
“I’m not too sure when’s my first bullpen,” he said. “Two or three weeks maybe.”
In the meantime, the 23-year-old right-hander is taking in as much as he can from being around the big leagues this season.
“Seeing the grind,” noted Reyes. “These guys — they have a routine and how they go out there and compete every day…seeing how they do their scouting reports and stuff like that.”
And there is also the benefit of now being able to look at hitters differently.
“Definitely, try to read as much as you can in the dugout and watching games,” agreed Reyes. “Just try to pick up on small things as much as you can.”
“Pretty much talk to all the guys — Waino, Lance, obviously our veteran guys. They have a lot of experience so those are guys you definitely like to pick their brains but pretty much right through the whole clubhouse, just try to learn from everyone.”
After the season, Reyes shared his plan is to go to Jupiter and rehab the rest of the off-season.
“My goal is to be healthy for Spring Training and just show what I’ve got.”