Burnett closing in on return to make run at division title
Pirates starter A.J. Burnett could be back on the mound soon after he takes a bullpen session on Tuesday.
Burnett went on on the 15-day disabled list because of a flexor strain in his right elbow on July 31. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he received a platelet-rich plasma injection and recenly began throwing off a mound.
He is expected to test his fastball in Tuesday's session.
“We flipped the hourglass,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle told the Post-Gazette. “The sand's running out, and he wants to be smart with it. He also wants to have a sense of urgency with it in a smart way. We’re not going to sit and take an extra week. If we think we can go, we’re going to bump this thing forward and get it rolling.”
Hurdle said Burnett's return would be a relief for a starting rotation that has gone every fifth day during this current stretch of 20 games without a day off. Burnett's return would allow Hurdle to bump the rest of his staff back a day.
"There's an intense want-to and I believe he's also being smart with the guy he needs to be smart with, listening to, on the how-to on the [return-to-pitch] plan, Hurdle said. "I think he's healthy, [if he] proves he's healthy, it could come sooner than later."
(h/t Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
