Under the guise of working back from elbow surgery with an eye toward next season, Kris Medlen has been building his arm strength to make a comeback attempt for the playoffs.
Medlen is scheduled to throw live batting practice Saturday for the first time in his 13-month recovery. If he can get return to game action before the regular season ends Sept. 28, the Braves will consider adding Medlen to their postseason roster.
“We are progressing him with no expectations other than if he pitches at the end of the season, we will then consider how he fits,” Braves general manager Frank Wren said.
Medlen suffered some scar-tissue breakup in June, a common setback in recovery from ligament-transplant surgery. But soreness lingered when he got back on the bullpen mound, so he was shut down for five weeks starting in mid-July. Medlen got an injection of platelet-rich plasma in his elbow. He said that and the rest helped.
Medlen threw his fifth bullpen session in the past 11 days Wednesday without discomfort.
“There’s no pain, and that’s the most important part,” Medlen said. “It’s just a matter of me getting my stuff back and getting the feel of everything. That would be the most important part for me to come back and help at all. I’m going to have to speed it up a little bit.”
Medlen, who underwent “Tommy John” surgery Aug. 18, 2010, was originally targeting a return to the mound in late August. After two setbacks and some indications he wouldn’t return this season, he is just happy for the chance.
“I’m super excited,” Medlen said. “Frank sat right next to me, face-to-face and told me the plan, and I was just like ... let’s do this.’ It’s been long enough.”
Hanson pleased with session
Tommy Hanson took another encouraging step Wednesday with his second good bullpen outing, throwing sets of 20 and 24 pitches and reporting his shoulder felt good afterward.
Hanson said he’ll wait to see how his shoulder responds Thursday before laying out what his next step will be, but he still thinks there’s a chance he could make a start for the Braves before the season ends.
“I hope so, yeah,” Hanson said. “Obviously I would like to. I think there’s a chance.”
Based on how his shoulder has responded, he doesn’t expect much Thursday beyond normal day-after soreness such as he had following Sunday’s bullpen. But he’ll wait to determine if he’s ready to throw one more bullpen session and head to instructional league in Florida for action against hitters or if he needs to back down. But so far, so good.
“I feel pretty good about my shoulder,” Hanson said. “I don’t think there’s going to be an issue.”
Ideally the Braves would like to get him in a game before the season ends Sept. 28 to determine if he’s ready for the postseason.
Hanson hasn’t pitched in a game since Aug. 6 and received his second cortisone shot of the season shortly thereafter. He was diagnosed with a slight undersurface tear of his rotator cuff, but Hanson was told that’s considered normal wear and tear.
Hanson said his shoulder feels the same whether he throws breaking pitches or his fastball, and he can let it go without hesitation.
“I feel really strong,” Hanson said. “I was probably throwing about 90 percent and towards the end. I started acting like I was facing a hitter and going hard. And it felt really good.”
Braves to open 2012 at Mets
The Braves will open next season in New York against the Mets on April 5 and also play home-and-home interleague series against the Yankees. The Braves’ tentative 2012 schedule, released Wednesday, features a heavy dose of the AL East in interleague play.
The Braves will travel to play both the Yankees (June 18-20) and the Red Sox (June 22-24). It’ll be the Braves’ first trip to the new Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009, and their first time playing the Yankees in New York since 2006.
The Yankees will play at Turner Field for the first time since 2009 on June 11-13, and the fourth time since interleague play began in 1997. The Braves will also host the Blue Jays (June 8-10) and Orioles (June 15-17) at Turner Field and travel to play the Tampa Bay Rays (May 18-20).
The Braves will play at the Marlins’ new stadium in Miami for the first time June 5-7.
The home schedule features some big holiday matchups — with the Cardinals coming to Turner Field on Memorial Day (May 28-30) and the Cubs for the Fourth of July (July 2-5). The Braves close the 2012 season with three games in Pittsburgh, after finishing with series against the Phillies in 2010 and 2011.
The Braves also are introducing a new exhibition game April 3. They’ll play their Opening Day lineup against the top prospects from their minor league system at Coolray Field, home of the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves. The Braves will play that game in lieu of the usual two exhibition games they’ve played against American League teams dating to the early 1990s.
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