Sean Murphy is now on the other side of his surgery and is in recovery mode. According to Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker, they’ll see how his recovery goes over the next four to five months, and they’ll evaluate from there.
Based on the timeline that Snitker mentioned, this stage of his recovery will last until January or February. He will stay up in Nashville for his rehab. Snitker said time will tell how it all pans out.
The hope is that he is ready for Spring Training. Pitchers and catchers report in mid-February. It’s possible he’s fully ready by then. Maybe we’ll see him a little later.
Murphy underwent surgery to repair a right hip labral tear. He had been dealing with a nagging injury for the better part of three years, but it got worse over the last month ahead of his procedure.
The recent dip in production during his final games of the season shows that something was up, but the lingering ailment isn’t to blame for every low point we have seen.
For him to have stretches where he’s hitting five home runs in eight games, it can’t be something that was a consistent hindrance. At times, Murphy can be feast or famine at the plate. It’s possible that now that his body is fully healthy, we could see some improvement, but it’s unlikely we’ll see some season-long surge.
Murphy batted .199 with a .709 OPS with 16 home runs and 45 RBIs. The overall numbers don’t do his season a good service. He had looked much better this season compared to last.
On July 31, he was batting .233 with an .823 OPS. However, he went 4-for-59 (.068) with one extra-base hit after that.
Snitker said on Saturday that Bummer is back to throwing but isn’t on a mound yet. The tossing program is looking promising. Snitker said he thinks there is time to get him on a mound and pitch either with Triple-A Gwinnett or simulate an outing if needed.
The Triple-A season is almost over, so they have to keep other options open. The left-hander has been out since Aug. 24 with shoulder inflammation. In 42 games, he has a 3.81 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.
He had been looking sharper in the games leading up to his injury, he had a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings pitched over his last seven outings.
