Braves reliever David Carpenter is preparing to head out on a minor league rehabilitation assignment Saturday in Triple-A Gwinnett as he nears his return from a bout with a biceps strain.
Carpenter threw his first bullpen session Tuesday since going on the disabled list on June 17, throwing 20 to 25 pitches without incident.
“It was nice crisp, hitting spots,” Carpenter said. “Overall, it feels great….Just excited to get back out there.”
Carpenter is eligible to come off the disabled list next Wednesday, July 2, when the Braves are at home against the Mets. The way things are progressing, Carpenter believes he’ll be on target to make that return.
He’s set to throw another bullpen before Thursday’s game in Houston. If all goes well, he’ll fly back to Atlanta when the team heads on to Philadelphia and join Gwinnett. He would throw at least two outings before rejoining the Braves, so likely Saturday and Monday.
Carpenter said after he left last Monday’s game in the 12th inning, when his fastball velocity dipped down into the low 90s that he thought the discomfort was a result of overcompensating with his arm and upper body for having tired legs. He said the biceps was just something that popped up that night, not something that had been lingering during his recent struggles on the mound (Carpenter has an 11.81 ERA and .563 opponents’ average in his past 10 appearances). His recovery has backed that up.
“It’s been gone,” Carpenter said of the biceps trouble. “It’s back to normal. And that’s definitely a nice thing to have. I didn’t really want that much rest but it was necessary. It’s kind of a blessing in disguise, get everything back to where it needs to be and get back to where we know what I can do and get back to that.”
