Colorado Rockies left fielder Corey Dickerson.
(John Leyba, The Denver Post)
As Corey Dickerson works to return from an injured foot on a minor-league rehab assignment, the Rockies’ concern isn’t whether he can find his swing, it’s everything else.
Dickerson is 5-for-15 in four minor-league games this week, two with Single-A Modesto and two with Triple-A Albuquerque. He can “wake up and hit on Christmas morning,” manager Walt Weiss has said (although Weiss got tired of the old-timey cliche and has stopped using it).
With Dickerson dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, the concern is whether he can stand for long periods in the outfield, chase fly balls in expansive outfields and run the bases.
On Monday with Modesto, Dickerson broke for home from third base while a rundown unfolded between first and second. He made it with no problem.
“It was good to see, that he felt good enough to (get) home,” Weiss said. “That’s big. I’m not really concerned about the at-bats. It’s just, can you run around on defense in a spacious outfield and run around the bases.”
The Rockies start a three-game home series against the Reds on Friday before a six-game road trip to Chicago and St. Louis. And Weiss said Dickerson could return to the lineup this weekend.
“There’s a chance, yeah. I don’t know what the percentages would be,” he said.
Dickerson’s injury revived questions about whether he’d be better off moving from right field to first base at some point in the future.
“I can see the rationale behind that,” Weiss said. “But no, it hasn’t been a part of any conversations. We see this injury as, hopefully, relatively short term. And he’s turned himself into a solid outfielder.”
Tags: Corey Dickerson, plantar fasciitis
