Hamilton Nearing Return, Not at Full Strength

Josh Hamilton hasn't played for the Texas Rangers since Aug. 16 with a sore knee. The team actually waited a few days to see if rest would help his sore knee before finally deciding to retroactively put him on the disabled list.

He's eligible to come off the DL today, but will likely come off when rosters expand on Tuesday. When he does return, it's still unknown what he'll be able to contribute immediately.

“If there is a double into the gap, I want to make sure I can run it out and not cause more of an issue," Hamilton told the Dallas Morning News. "I felt no improvement in it for almost two weeks and then it was, like, one day, everything felt a lot better. It feels OK to throw on it and hit, but it’s still not there running.”

Even when Hamilton does return to the roster, it'll most likely be as a pinch-hitter, at least in the short term, as the team doesn't want to risk aggravating the knee again. Jeff Banister has already made it known that the team will take it slow and go with the cautious approach with their veteran outfielder.

“He is improving, but not ready,” Banister said. “We would take Josh in whatever capacity is he capable of playing because he is still capable of being a game changer. But we are not going to push him to a point where it is a detriment to him or our future.”

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