NEWSLETTER
Matt Garza continues his recovery from a stress reaction in his elbow last July, which ultimately cost him the second half of the 2012 season (and cost the Cubs the ability to trade Garza, or seriously engage him in extension discussions). And that recovery has gone well at every turn.
The latest positive step saw Garza throw a pain-free 30-pitch bullpen session – off the mound – yesterday in Mesa. GM Jed Hoyer and pitching coach Chris Bosio were on hand to watch, according to ESPNChicago, and it sounds like Bosio, at least, was impressed.
“Matty looks like he is in great shape,” Bosio said, per ESPNChicago. “It looks like he worked hard in the offseason. His legs are in great shape and I believe he is ahead of where he was last year when he reported.”
Drink that quote in for a moment. Bosio isn’t merely saying Garza is on schedule in his recovery – he’s saying Garza looks better now than he did at this point last year, when he was completely healthy. That’s swell.
Bosio went on to drive the point home.
“[Garza] is on a program we put him on and at this point he is ahead of schedule,” Bosio said. “The communication I have had with our trainers indicate they are very happy where Matt is at in his program. As for me, I do not have any concerns at all for him. He has always been very honest about how he feels with us.”
The report really can’t get much better than that. Obviously things can always go wrong – they could go wrong for any player at any time – but, right now, it sounds like Garza feels completely healthy, and his pitching sessions reflect that.
Good, good news.
