Not but a few weeks ago, we were presented with the very legitimate possibility that the Chicago Cubs fourth outfielder, Xavier Nady, would not actually be able to, you know, play in the outfield, until June.
Quickly, the Cubs have eschewed those concerns by throwing Nady into the outfield, where Nady has successful done some throwing of his own.
Xavier Nady said his right elbow is passing all the tests but he still has to be careful. Nady, coming off Tommy John surgery last year, started in right field on Monday and was able to make the throws, although second baseman Jeff Baker did go deep into the outfield for the relay throw.
“I’ll just keep grinding away with the shoulder exercises,” Nady said. “It’s a long process and I understand you have to be patient.”
Of course, he didn’t expect to switch to first base, which requires a few more throws.
“That’s the last thing I wanted to do was turn a double play and drop down sidearm,” Nady said. “I just have to be smart and keep working at it. It’s going to be a long process.” Muskat Ramblings.
You can expect Nady to continue to be tested any time he’s in the outfield, with runners seeking to take an extra base. As long as he is not at a serious risk of throwing his arm out, I think we can all accept the trade-off that he can’t make long throws in exchange for what he provides at the plate. While Tyler Colvin was the vogue Spring Training performer, as we have said from day one: Xavier Nady is the fourth outfielder on this team, and should more starts become available due to injury or ineffectiveness, Nady is the guy who will be first in line to get them.
