Los Angeles Angels Injury Rumors 2016: Albert Pujols Has Significant Progress after Foot Surgery
When Los Angeles Angels star Albert Pujols went under the knife last September to fix a plantar plate on his right foot, the consensus thought he won't be able to do any physical activities for several months. However, the team is happy to announce that the first baseman has seen significant progress after the surgery, particularly being cleared to begin hitting baseballs off a tee.
The initial thought was that Pujols will only be allowed to resume full baseball activities by the end of March, which meant that he isn't expected to start the season. Although this news of progress technically does not change the timetable, it is still good news for Angels fans.
The 36-year-old veteran is taking it one step at a time, and the team is more than willing to give him as much rest as he wants, especially after the bad experience in 2012, where he underwent surgery but prematurely came back for the Opening Day. As a result, he had the worst year of his career.
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With the Angels acquiring Ji-Man Choi in the Rule 5 draft and trading for Jefry Marte from the Tigers last Wednesday, it is clear that they intend to give Pujols a break just enough to guarantee that he is completely healed. In line with this development, first baseman and designated hitter C.J. Cron is expected to be getting more playing time and responsibility.
Pujols did not have the best year last season and that would be attributed to the plantar fascia injury.
However, he did manage to produce more than 40 home runs, something he hasn't done since five years ago. The three-time NL MVP has seen a lot of struggles in his four years with the Angels and those are mainly attributed to a string of injuries. Well, he's already 36 and has been in a lot of grueling battles in the field. He owns a career batting average of .312 and has 560 career homers, so far.
