Yankees hopeful Joba Chamberlain can return to pitching this season

After Joba Chamberlain‘s trampoline injury to trump all trampoline injuries, there was much doubt as to whether the Yankees pitcher would be able to pitch this season or even again in his career. Chamberlain suffered an open dislocation and torn ligaments in his right ankle while playing with his son. And while examinations revealed no microfractures, doctors are still keeping an eye on whether any infections develop. Meanwhile, the Yankees are remaining optimisitc (perhaps overly optimistic) that Chamberlain can return to pitching in July at the earliest.

“That’s the optimistic side,” Yanks GM Brian Cashman said Saturday, according to MLB.com. “The way I work this stuff, my mindset is, until they’re close to knocking on the door, I [don’t worry about it]. Obviously, in Joba’s case, it’s still a question of when he comes back. I just hope we’re in a position where he can come back.”

Manager Joe Girardi has a more hopeful tone.

“Well, if you’re talking July 1 to July 15 to July 25, there’s a big difference there,” he said. “He’s going to be in a cast, I think, for six weeks. Then you start rehabbing. Six weeks is going to take you to, what, May 10? So I don’t necessarily think that’s out of the question.”

Keep in mind this is just talk about getting him back to pitching off a mound, not throwing in a game. The club already expected to be without Chamberlain until June as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. This  new injury is obviously a major setback for him, given that the right ankle is on his push-off leg. Right now, it’s probably best not to speculate when he’ll return until he actually gets back to walking on his own and jumping on trampolines again.

H/T Eye on Baseball
Photo credit: Kim Klement, US Presswire