When speaking to reporters about the team's current injury situations this week, Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels led on that there is a small possibility Prince Fielder could begin swinging a bat and possibly even take some cuts in game action before the season wraps up — likely at home against the Oakland A's on Sept. 28.
Fielder was the Rangers' big off-season acquisition after the Rangers traded Ian Kinsler for him in November to help solidify the heart of the order. Instead, he hit three home runs, didn't hit his weight and was under the knife for neck fusion surgery in May.
The original timetable for his return from the surgery was around four months, which would be September. The thought was he would be out for the season, and there's still a strong possibility that's the case.
But Fielder joined his teammates for the first time this week at Globe Life Park and is set to begin rehabbing the surgery in DFW. If the Rangers can see some more at-bats from Fielder this season, post-surgery, that'd be a big plus just to see what they have in him. Granted, it wouldn't be full strength, and his timing likely wouldn't be there. But it would be a huge boost for their confidence in him to see him come back healthy.
That said, they won't push him, and if things aren't good after the surgery, it doesn't really matter as the Rangers are saddled with Fielder for a long time to come (six more years after this one).
