Means resumes throwing

[Frobby]

From Roch:

John Means played catch on the field today for the first time since being shut down in late May with a strain in his left teres major, a muscle in the scapula/upper back region. He sustained the injury while participating in non-throwing activation drills during his rehab program from Tommy John surgery.

[tntoriole]

Good news !! Long road for John but hopeful news! 

[Billy F-Face3]

Good to hear. I was actually wondering last night about how he was doing. This news is very timely.

[emmett16]

Wow.  Month off w/o throwing.  Imagine mid-August is absolute earliest he’d go for first rehab start.  Will be interesting to see if he can make an impact at end of season.  Any other delay and his 2023 is gone. 

[Billy F-Face3]

3 hours ago, emmett16 said:

 Any other delay and his 2023 is gone. 

I've already had to re-frame my expectations to be that his 2023 is more than likely already gone. At least for the active roster and having any impact on the Major League team.

[ChuckS]

A returning Means at 100 percent, could do wonders for this team.  We still haven't really seen him play in Camden Yards with the new LF mentions, which are sure to be extra favorable to him as a fly ball lefty.   

Returning in September and getting a month of starts where we could evaluate him for part of our playoff rotation, might be the most realistic scenario. 

[MCO'sFan]

32 minutes ago, ChuckS said:

A returning Means at 100 percent, could do wonders for this team.  We still haven't really seen him play in Camden Yards with the new LF mentions, which are sure to be extra favorable to him as a fly ball lefty.   

Returning in September and getting a month of starts where we could evaluate him for part of our playoff rotation, might be the most realistic scenario. 

I am as hopeful as the next guy but, guys don't usually come back from TJ and return to their peak right away. I think we are looking at 2024 before we see that version of Means. I am wondering if he could be slotted into the BP when he returns. He might be a real weapon if he can work a couple of middle relief innings here and there when they have a lead but the starter is done after 5 or 6. 

[vab]

I could see him working as a bulk reliever as some of the SPs start to pile up innings in September. Hopefully they're in position where they have the luxury to back-off on some guys in preparation for the playoffs. 

[Just Regular]

Its all practice until they actually put him in a minor league game.     From there, he's like any SP starting spring training....I'd guess he will need to complete 5 starts minimum around 15-30-45-60-80 pitches.   

If he hasn't thrown one of those games by the All-Star break in 2 weeks, change August to September.

Something like that could almost be a feature and not a bug if the boys keep banking enough Wins not to have to sweat the tournament berth.     He may be fresh when Tyler Wells or others are a little wilted.