Sweat dropped from Trea Turner’s hair Thursday as he explained the recent progress he made. Turner was just back into the Washington Nationals clubhouse after yet another workout.
The last week has been an improvement. Turner, who fractured his wrist June 30 and has not played since, has been able to receive more treatment. The fracture in his right wrist has healed to the point that more maintenance work can be done around it. He’s still not swinging yet, but it’s progress.
Turner, who said he “hates” sitting out, has been swinging one-handed since the injury. He’s recently watched Daniel Murphy on the bench for tips on how to stay sharp despite not playing. Turner runs almost daily. He is able to lift weights, “pushing” and “pulling” on his injured wrist. He has worked in the field the last two days.
“I don’t think I could throw well maybe even a week ago,” Turner said. “Right now, I fee like I could make plays at short. It’s been quick. It’s just a matter of getting the hitting back. I got approved to do a lot more rotational stuff in the weight room. So that should help with the hitting and I’m hoping that should speed all that up.”
Turner did not offer a timeline for swinging a bat. He is just hopeful to maximize the number of regular-season games he can play before the playoffs hit. Only 50 games remain in the regular season.
“I want to play 30 games, 40 games, whatever that is, just to get my timing back,” Turner said. “I have no say in that. It’s just when my body lets me. If it’s less, I got to get ready faster. Just to be back in enough time for the games that matter would be huge. You don’t want to get thrown in there like [Chicago’s Kyle] Schwarber did.”
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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