BRADENTON, Fla. — Gregory Polanco is pumped about the start of spring training games, perhaps as much as or more than any member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The right fielder missed all of last spring while recovering from left shoulder surgery, so watching and waiting was one of the worst parts of his recovery.
“I didn’t play at all,” Polanco said. “I’m excited. I’m happy to be back, excited for spring training games to start and see.”
The Pirates open Grapefruit League play against the Minnesota Twins at 1:05 p.m. Saturday at LECOM Park.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Polanco will be eased back into game action, serving as the designated hitter in the first two games he plays.
“As long as I’m in the lineup, I’m good,” Polanco said. “I’m happy. I appreciate every opportunity to be in the lineup because I know how hard it is not to play. That’s my first surgery ever, so it was hard to watch them play and you can’t do nothing about it.”
Polanco hit a career-best 23 homers with 81 RBIs in 2018 before suffering a season-ending injury on a slide in September. He rushed to return to the Pirates last April but slashed .242/.301/.425 with six home runs and 17 RBIs in 42 games before being shut down for the season. His shoulder wasn’t fully healed, which affected his throwing and, eventually, his swing.
“I’m excited that he’s healthy,” Shelton said. “Everyone knows what he’s done when he’s been healthy, so every day that he’s healthy and working forward with his volume is probably going to be the thing that we’re going to monitor the most.
“The fact that he’s going to be on the field and healthy, that’s what he’s worked hard for for the last year and a half. The fact that he missed spring training (last year), we’re going to be extremely cognizant of what his workload is.”
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