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Jung-ho Kang Looking Good in His Rehab

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BRADENTON, Fl. — Probably the most encouraging thing about today’s events at Pirate City would be the progression shown by Jung-ho Kang. The third baseman is recovering from major knee surgery last year, which was expected to put him out for six to eight months. That would have put him out until mid-May at the latest, and the start of the season on an optimistic timeline. It looks like he could be ready for Opening Day based on the progression he has shown. However, he wasn’t exactly committing to that timeline when I asked if he’d be ready by Opening Day.

“I don’t know,” Kang responded in plain English with a smile, after the question was translated.

Along with the improved health, Kang has definitely improved his English. He was able to answer a few questions in English today, and even answered one question without needing it to be translated. That question was about how he feels right now. The answer? “Good. Much better.”

Kang has hit a lot of milestones lately. He started hitting last week and taking ground balls outside. He did both today, while also reaching a new milestone by throwing across the diamond for the first time. He also started running with 100% full weight-bearing on his knee last week, which is an encouraging sign, since that’s the main thing related to his injury.

As for whether he could return to shortstop, Kang said he didn’t know yet.

“Doctor said it’s going to get better, and we’ll see where it takes me,” Kang said via translator.

The play which took Kang out last year was a hard slide by Chris Coghlan, and that play is now leading to a rule change after a similar play injured Ruben Tejada in the post-season. Kang is in favor of such a rule change.

“It’s to help protect the players, so I think it’s a good idea,” Kang said.

The injury to Kang was pretty major, although he looks to be recovering well from the injury. Here are some videos from today’s workouts.

Jung-ho Kang throwing #Pirates

A video posted by Pirates Prospects (@piratesprospects) on

Jung-ho Kang taking grounders at third. No throws yet. #Pirates

A video posted by Pirates Prospects (@piratesprospects) on

Now Kang is throwing #Pirates

A video posted by Pirates Prospects (@piratesprospects) on

Jung-ho Kang getting some work in the cages #Pirates

A video posted by Pirates Prospects (@piratesprospects) on

The Pirates could really use Kang in the lineup and back to his pre-injury self on Opening Day. Last year, Kang was on fire in the second half, hitting for a .392 wOBA and a 154 wRC+. By comparison, Andrew McCutchen had a .379/146 during the same span. Kang’s numbers ranked 19th (wOBA) and 15th (wRC+) in the second half out of qualified players in all of baseball.

Having another guy with Andrew McCutchen’s numbers would be a huge boost to the offense in 2016, especially if that player is in the lineup from Opening Day. Time will tell if that ends up being the case for Kang, but right now, the rehab results are encouraging.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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