Could Omar Infante Return To Detroit Tigers Soon?

Jun 30, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers second baseman Omar Infante (4) catches the ball against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Omar Infante was out on rehab assignement last week when he left a game early due to increased pain in him injured ankle. Neither Infante nor the Detroit Tigers gave any possible timetable for a return to action, but the setback didn’t sound good. This was a quote from Infante after exiting the game in West Michigan as recorded in the Grand Rapids Press:

When asked how the ankle felt after the game, Infante said, “real bad. Now when I’m walking I feel pain.”As for an extended stay on the disabled list, Infante replied, “Maybe. We’ll see tomorrow … I think I come (back) too soon. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

It certainly didn’t sound good. But now, just five days later, Omar is apparently feeling much better. Jason Beck tweets that he recently completed a day of workouts with positive results.

The fear still remains (at least in me) that the injury could linger and affect his performance down the stretch, but it’s reassuring (at least for now) that most recent setback may ultimately only cause a delay of a week or so. I’m sure the Tigers don’t want to rush him back if he’s not going to be feeling right, and I’m sure Infante doesn’t want to rush back if it’s going to hamper his performance, but it’s looking like a resolution is on the horizon.

I’m reading into things here, but if he’s able to go out on a rehab assignement over the weekend, might he be ready for big league action in time for Monday’s series opener in Cleveland? It sounds optimistic, but the Tigers could certianly use all hands on deck when facing their biggest divisional competition.