Through the use of eye drops, Eddie Rosario tried to play through blurred vision. When he noticed his swing was not coming close to the baseball, he said, he knew something was wrong.
“I felt normal sometimes,” Rosario said. “Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no.”
Speaking publicly for the first time since his laser eye procedure, Rosario on Tuesday said he doesn’t know what caused the retinal swelling, which is what the Braves are calling this. The outfielder said doctors didn’t tell him how it could’ve happened. The Braves have not said how or why it occurred.
Rosario said he has a doctor’s appointment in two days. He has been riding the stationary bike and has done light physical activity, but hasn’t done any baseball activities to this point. His full vision is coming back slowly.
In late April, the Braves placed Rosario on the injured list with blurred vision and swelling in his right eye. Initially, they believed he would be out eight to 12 weeks. That could still be the case, and they will adjust the timeline if necessary as he progresses, but they’re still a long way from that.
In spring training, Rosario said, his vision was sometimes good, but poor other times.
“When I go hitting, I (would) lose the ball when it’s coming,” he said.
He began using eye drops and that continued into the regular season. They helped him see better. But, he said, the vision issues continued to return as more time passed. He said he didn’t know if the problem began before spring training because he uses contacts and, with those, he sees differently regardless.
He said his vision isn’t yet back to full strength, but it continues to become clearer as time passes since his surgery. He said he has been told his vision will eventually return to normal.
“That’s what (I’m waiting for),” Rosario said. “Everybody is waiting for that. After that, I’ll (be) working hard so that I can play.”
As of now, doctors have advised him to stay away from caffeine – such as in coffee and Red Bull – during the recovery process. He also must avoid straining his eyes.
And because of that, he doesn’t watch a ton of the Braves games. He’ll sometimes check his phone and see, for example, that it’s a 5-4 game in the eighth inning.
What does he do to pass the time?
“I clean my car, I clean my house,” he said. “I go outside to eat, to not stay home and watch TV.”
So, that house and car must be pretty clean.
“Yeah, it’s very clean,” Rosario said.
Before surgery, Rosario was 3-for-44 with 10 strikeouts and five walks. He did not drive in a run. In the field, he committed three errors.
In April, Braves manager Brian Snitker said Rosario reported the eye issues days before the outfielder underwent the procedure.
Soroka, Yates are throwing bullpen sessions
Mike Soroka and Kirby Yates each threw a bullpen session Tuesday, Snitker said.
“Looked really good,” Snitker said of the two.
Snitker said Soroka did an up-down, which is when a pitcher sits after throwing and then gets up to throw again, like he would between the first and second innings. Yates threw 30 pitches.
Soroka and Yates have been throwing bullpen sessions.
Earlier this month, Yates told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he remained on track for a return around the beginning of August. Soroka also is expected to return around the All-Star break.
Offense or defense?
Snitker shuffled his lineup before Monday’s series opener. He didn’t revert to the old one for Tuesday.
William Contreras, who played in left field Monday, was batting second as the designated hitter Tuesday. Travis d’Arnaud was in the cleanup spot, with Matt Olson batting fifth, Ozzie Albies hitting sixth and Austin Riley in the seventh spot.
Asked if he considers offense or defense more in lineup construction, Snitker said: “A little of both, I guess. It’s more offensively oriented, I would think. We got some really good defensive players that have hit in the past and will hit again. It’s probably more of just matchup, trying to get guys – like we did yesterday – maybe a different look.”
