Marlins notes: Christian Yelich expects to return mid-week against Giants
MIAMI -- Miami Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich anticipates being activated from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday night in San Francisco when the ballclub opens a four-game series with the Giants.
Yelich, who went on the DL on April 24 (retroactive to April 20) with a lower back strain, will play in rehab games Sunday through Tuesday in Jupiter before rejoining the team on Thursday. He has been hitting over the past three days.
"I feel fine," Yelich said. "No, I feel fine. It's all good. All good."
The 23-year-old began feeling discomfort on April 11 during the final game of Miami's first homestand against the Tampa Bay Rays. He tried playing through it the next day in Atlanta before being scratched from the next two games against the Braves. Yelich struggled in the four-game series in New York, striking out seven times over the final two contests. He sat the three games in Philadelphia from April 21-23.
Upon returning to South Florida, an MRI later revealed a slight bulge in one of the disks in his back.
Over 11 games, Yelich was batting an uncharacteristic .200 with four runs, a double, four RBI, four walks and 13 strikeouts.
"We'll see how he feels and how he does," manager Mike Redmond said. "A lot of it depends on how he's feeling. But we know that he's feeling good. He's going to take BP today. We'll know more after a couple of days of how he's feeling."
WORTH NOTING
Right-hander Mat Latos, who is still scheduled to start Tuesday's game in Washington, threw a bullpen session prior to Saturday's afternoon matchup. He fielded balls hit into the outfield during both Friday's and Saturday's batting practices and "felt alright. It's sore."
"We'll see how it feels and go from there," Latos said.
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