Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford is
participating in baseball-related activities, but he still has a ways to go in
his recovery from Tommy John surgery he underwent in August. Even so, the
veteran is confident that he’ll be ready by Opening Day, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
While Crawford believes he’ll be ready by the start of the regular season, he’s not sure in what capacity the Dodgers will elect to use
him initially. He views himself as an everyday player, but Los Angeles could
decide to ease him back into a regular role.
Crawford isn’t experiencing any pain in his elbow, just
basic muscle fatigue. He’s throwing from up to 90 feet and hitting off a tee,
and he hopes to move along to live pitching in the next few days.
The Dodgers acquired Crawford along with Adrian Gonzalez,
Josh Beckett, Nick Punto and cash from the Boston Red Sox last summer in
exchange for Allen Webster, Ivan De Jesus, James Loney, Rubby De La Rosa and
Jerry Sands.
Crawford struggled with the Red Sox, hitting only
.260/.292/.419 over 664 plate appearances. Still, the 31-year-old owns a career
batting line of .292/.332/.441 over 11 seasons in the majors.
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