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MLB odds: Rays may get Bartlett back Thursday
By Jordan WaltersWagerWeb.com Contributing Writer
| Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook |
One of the unsung heroes on the Tampa Bay Rays this season has been Jason Bartlett, who plugged a major defensive hole at shortstop and has given the Rays one of the best defensive middles in baseball.
Bartlett has been on the DL since July 3 with a sprained right knee. But after Bartlett felt "a lot better than expected" Monday running the bases and sliding for the first time since the injury, manager Joe Maddon said the 28-year-old likely will return during the team's upcoming seven-game road trip, which begins Thursday in Kansas City.
"I'll be ready to go come Thursday," Bartlett said.
Bartlett is scheduled to be evaluated on Tuesday -- with some soreness expected -- and then evaluated further on Wednesday before an exact course of action is decided.
"Watching him run, there was no hesitation," Maddon said. "I'd say he didn't run 100 percent, I'd say maybe 75-80 percent it looked like. And without any kind of difference in regard to what he looked like normally."
Bartlett, acquired in the offseason Delmon Young trade with the Twins, said the toughest test in his rehab has been running the bases, while "everything else is great."
Bartlett said he's about "80 percent" now but thinks he could return to his everyday role when he's activated.
"I don't know, when J.B. comes back, if it's going to be wise to push him three or four days in a row right out of the chute," Maddon said. "I don't know that. We'll try to talk to the docs and see how he feels."
Bartlett made it sound like it shouldn't be a problem.
"That's why I waited so long," he said. "I'm not rehabbing to come back for a few weeks or a month. I'm coming back to play every day."
Bartlett started 77 of the Rays first 84 games this season before landing on the DL, and the Rays are 6-8 with him on the DL. Prior to his injury, Bartlett was hitting .256 with 24 runs scored and 18 steals.
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