WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy didn’t experience any issues during his first on-field batting practice of the spring on Saturday.
Working his way back from offseason knee surgery, Murphy had only progressed as far as hitting in the batting cages.
”It’s the first time I’ve seen overhand pitching, so you want to reinforce that I can take it and there’s not going to be any discomfort – which there wasn’t, so that was, I think first and foremost, that was a really positive sign,” Murphy said.
Murphy still doesn’t have a timetable as to when he’ll appear in a Grapefruit League game. Earlier this spring Murphy said he might only need a handful of at-bats to be ready for opening day.
Following the batting practice, Murphy said he’s pleased with the way his rehab is progressing.
”It’s nice to see ball flight,” Murphy said. ”That you can’t really see – a little bit confined in the cage.”
Murphy’s only running this spring has come on a treadmill. He recently started fielding groundballs.
”Not a ton of lateral movement right now,” Murphy said, ”Just kind of right at me and hopefully we can kind of progress to ground balls a little bit further away.”
A three-time All-Star, Murphy hit .322 with 23 homers and 93 RBIs last season.
Saturday also marked the first time center fielder Michael A. Taylor took batting practice on the field since being scratched from Monday’s lineup with side tightness.
”Body feels good,” Taylor said. ”Starting to loosen up a little bit. Feel like I’m in a good spot.”
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